


The Resurrection of Naoe Nobutsuna

by Roo_Bastmoon



Category: Honou no Miraju | Mirage of Blaze
Genre: Completed, First Time, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Past Rape/Non-con, Psychic Bond, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-12
Updated: 2013-08-12
Packaged: 2017-12-23 07:03:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 32,871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/923365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Roo_Bastmoon/pseuds/Roo_Bastmoon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kagetora and Naoe must learn to cope with being accidentally telepathically bonded.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Swearing. Telepathy. Sap. Crying jags. A hint of Chiaki x Yuzuru warm fuzzy feelings. Self-indulgent plot clichés. Over-the-top emotional speeches. Possible purple prose. Rape flashbacks. Deus ex machina climax. Graphic adult yaoi male/male lemon sex scenes, now with magical healing powers! In short, no one should read this. Ever. This fic may cause blindness.

  
Chapter 1  


  


Takaya is sick of surprises. Especially any surprises pertaining to Saburo Kagetora.   


In the gray depths of his memory, he vaguely recognizes the Hojo clan. Glimpses; snatches of things: _His brother. A calm sea. The moon hanging high above their tree. And burning, acerbic rage. Bruises on his inner thighs. A wooden flute, snapping between his two hands._  


All these images, these feelings, flash and fade, as fragile as the thin film atop stagnant water.   


None of these thoughts help him right now, however. Right now, he’s being targeted as Kenshin’s beloved son, the leader of the Uesugi Yashashu. Right now, it doesn’t matter that he’s seventeen years old, he has math homework long overdue, his sister’s going to be worried sick that he’s not been home for dinner two nights in a row, and his shoelace is untied.  


The fate of the Dark Civil War rests squarely on his shoulders, and he’s trying hard not to crack under the pressure. He uses every incantation and burst of inner blue flame at his disposal, and it doesn’t even make a dent.  


Right now, he can’t afford to zone out, because Oda Nobunaga is kicking his ass.   


“Pathetic,” Nobunaga murmurs. “To see you run so, from your destiny. Like a rat in a maze.”  


Takaya dodges a volley of sharp light; it singes the back off his shirt. He’s standing there, in tatters now, glaring, more than pissed off.   


He didn’t ask for this. He didn’t want any of this. _Where_ were his men? Haruie . . . Chiaki . . . and . . . _that asshole._ Where the hell was his supposed protector?  


“Taking an awful lot of trouble, aren’t you?” he spits out between raged breaths. “Just for this rat?”  


Nobunaga smiles. It sends a shiver up Takaya’s spine, as if someone slit an icy fingernail down the center of his back.   


“You cannot escape me.”  


Takaya looks left and right—it’s true; there’s nowhere to run. He’d been taking a stroll in the park, trying to clear his head after his latest round with Naoe, when Nobunaga seemingly stepped out of a shadow.   


No choice but to fight. He puts his hands together, forefingers touching, digging down deep, searching for the Buddha’s Seed embedded in him, feeling its bright red heat pulse in his chest as he intones the sacred words.   


He’s not quick enough. Nobunaga lets loose a blow with enough force to bend and snap the trees around him—but he’s miraculously safe.  


Naoe’s suddenly standing in front of him, hands out to his sides, a sheer barrier covering them both while a park bench is ripped up and flung over their heads.   


Takaya keeps chanting. ~ _Get out of the way. Get out of the way, you bastard._ ~  


The older man turns to look at him, those brown eyes are worried in a way that Takaya has never seen before. He jerks his head and Naoe moves slightly to the side.   


Reluctantly, the older man takes down the barrier and Takaya pushes his hands out, a powerful burst of energy radiating from the center of his palms, purple now, the twining combination of blue and red, aimed straight for Nobunaga’s chest.  


The overconfident prick reels backwards, but on his way down, he gets out one last, laser-hot stream, and Takaya’s eyes widen as he watches it head toward him in slow-motion.  


Naoe’s facing him, his back to Nobunaga, his eyes locked on Takaya’s. He can’t see what’s coming. But that’s not going to stop him.  


~ _No. Don’t._ ~  


Naoe jumps in front of him, pushing him to the ground, and he can _feel_ the power as it _slams_ into Naoe’s back. He can smell scorched flesh and the electric zing along Naoe’s nerves; it transfers into Takaya until he can feel even his teeth hum.  


They’re falling down, his naked back scraping on the concrete pathway, Naoe folding over on top of him, and then . . .  


Then, the _pain_.  


Naoe lets out an inhuman moan, but Takaya can’t hear it. He can only feel it, rumbling across his sternum. He’s gone deaf, but for the sound of something fragile breaking, like glass; like an ornament on a Christmas tree, shattering; like a strand of pearls, getting ground into fine powder.  


The tenuous fissures netting his memories break; _everything_ assaults him at once.   


***

  


_Father. Loving like the sea. And just as forgiving.  
_

Kendo lessons. Sakura petals. Plum wine and geisha robes.   


Incense burning at the family shrine.  


Lord Kenshin. His mission.  


Men’s hands on him; he’s bleeding shame. This is his brother’s lesson in humility.  


Naoe’s mouth inching closer to his.  


So many battles. Too many battles. A red, red river.  


His soul fading, blinking out like an extinct star.   


Minako’s body, a shell around him, her pale skin cold and unfamiliar.   


A child in him, growing. Not his.  


The jagged edge of a sword at his jugular.  


Naoe’s cologne all around him, as he pushes Takaya up against a wall.  


A mirrored world, reality by the skim of its teeth.  


The body, near death, protectively draped around him now.  


***

  


When he opens his eyes, Takaya is a distant dream. _Kagetora_ is in his place.   


“Naoe,” he moans.  


Naoe does not respond. The older man is trembling, his whole body collapsing around Kagetora. ~ _Still trying to shelter me_ ,~ he thinks.  


He peels Naoe back—it’s a tricky business; there’s blood and a bit of gore—stripped flesh, a deep red underneath. ~ _Fuck._ ~  


“Naoe?” He can hear the tremor in his own voice.  


// _I love you._ //  


Did Naoe say that? Or did he just _think_ Naoe said that?  


Glancing past the older man’s twitching shoulder, Kagetora can see that Nobunaga is still reeling, but it won’t be long. He doesn’t have enough energy to fight anymore; he doesn’t even have enough energy to toss up a barrier. And Naoe needs medical attention _right now_.  


From some reserve of strength buried deep, Kagetora hauls Naoe up and slings the older man over his back—which is bare and now scraped all to hell—stumbling as quickly as he can out of the park. It’s not a long walk to the hotel but it feels like forever. He’s panting by the time he makes it to the lobby.  


“Sir?!” the concierge calls out.   


Fixing the man with a glare that could freeze hell, he grumbles, “Hospital.”  


*

  


Twenty minutes later, he’s riding in the back of an ambulance older than Takaya is, jarred by every bump in the road. At first, he stares at the tubes hanging from the ceiling—the saline, the antibiotics, the blood transfusion packets. They jangle as the truck races down the narrow streets of Matsumoto.  


Then he watches the paramedics; the girl is pretty with her auburn hair tucked back. The man looks older, more serious. He frowns almost constantly. “What could have done this? It looks like second degree burns. Like he’s been skinned.”  


Both professionals turn their gaze on him, but he doesn’t say a word. Their movement has afforded him a glance at Naoe. He doesn’t like what he sees.   


Naoe is pale and slack, out cold. The white sheet of the gurney under him is stained pink with faint blood. His shoulders are still twitching.   


~ _Don’t you dare fucking die on me,_ ~ Kagetora silently commands. “I haven’t given you permission yet.”  


“Sir?” the woman says.   


He doesn’t respond because at that moment, Naoe just _has_ to go and flat line on him.  


A flurry of activity; the male paramedic jumps onto Naoe’s gurney and starts CPR. The woman is busy shouting a bunch of crap Kagetora vaguely remembers Takaya watching on TV hospital dramas. The point is, the bastard is trying to leave him.  


Surging forward, he grips Naoe’s chin and yanks that pale face to the right. “Don’t. You. Fucking. Dare.”  


“Get away from him, sir!” the man shouts, hands pressing down again on Naoe’s chest.  


Kagetora smacks Naoe. Hard. So hard it hurts his hand. “Wake up.”  


_Beep. Beep. Beep._   


The paramedics stare at him, mouths agape.  


“That’s better.” He smoothes Naoe’s hair back. “Not until I say.”  


// _Kagetora-sama . . ._ //  


Kagetora startles a bit, his hand dropping down to his side. ~ _Stress. It has to be stress._ ~   


“Sir, please sit over there. We have to stabilize him.”  


Frowning, he plops down, staring at Naoe’s face. It’s still wan, pale as the moon. He watches impassively as the paramedics babble, adjust their machines, fuss over Naoe. They keep fussing even as they wheel him into the admitting room.  


The check-in process is a blur. _He_ doesn’t know if Naoe has insurance, or what blood type Yoshiaki Tachibana is; he’s not about to tell them _how_ Naoe got his wounds . . . Just about the only thing he _can_ say is that there’s no family to notify. No one to come for him.  


Family . . .  


~ _Haruie_!~  


“I need a phone.”  


“Over there.” The receptionist points to a payphone on the wall. He doesn’t have a phone card, however. She sighs at him and hands over her receiver and keypad. “Make it quick.”  


It feels so surreal, the plastic buttons on the tips of his fingers. He dials the number by route memory. Haruie picks up on the fourth ring.   


“Hello?” She sounds sleepy.   


It’s late; he forgot.  


“He’s hurt,” Kagetora blurts, sounding bewildered to his own ears. “Nobunaga got me in the park. We were having a fight and I stormed out. And then he came and it was too much. And then Naoe saved me, and now he’s hurt.”  


“Takaya-san. Calm down. What happened?”  


Taking a deep breath, Kagetora tries again. “He’s hurt. We’re at the hospital in Matsumoto. The big one, by the newspaper office. You have to come. He’s _hurt_.”  


“Takaya-san—”  


“Don’t!” Kagetora raises his voice, turning sharply away from the reception desk. “Just come.”  


“I’m on my way. Are you all right?”   


Kagetora looks down at the shreds of his shirt that hangs off his belt. His hands won’t stop shaking. His teeth . . . _twang_ with whatever strange mojo Nobunaga had pulled out of his ass.   


“I don’t know his blood type,” Kagetora says stupidly. His shoulders slump.  


“Kagetora-sama.”  


// _Kagetora-sama._ //  


“I have to go. You have to come. Because he’s hurt. I’m going to sit down now. I’ll see you when you get here.” He hands the phone back to the receptionist.  


She watches him carefully over the silver rims of her glasses. “Would you like me to get you a shirt, honey? We’ve got scrubs in the back and something tells me blue is your color.”  


He’s in the middle of nodding when his legs give out. His chin cracks a bit on the edge of the desk, the metallic taste of blood is on his tongue, and then . . . blackness.  


*

  


// _He’s so beautiful. Especially in sleep. The way his bangs cover his forehead, like a damned kid. Even the way he breathes. I want to hold him. If I was a woman, maybe he’d let me . . ._ //  


Consciousness returns like a freight train. Slam!   


Kagetora smacks his lips; his mouth feels like cotton, it’s so dry. It’s too bright—late evening, judging by the pink clouds hanging low out the window. Where is he?  


~ _The hospital?_ ~  


“You’re in the hospital.”  


Kagetora whips round to see Naoe lying in the bed beside him, _still_ looking pale, as if to spite him. He seems . . . exhausted.   


“You all right?” Kagetora says, his voice suddenly deep and serious.   


“Of course.” // _No._ //  


“What?”  


“I said, ‘of course.’ ” Naoe frowns. “I might be losing my voice,” he apologizes.   


“Your back?”  


Naoe says nothing, but it’s almost as if Kagetora can feel the dull, tinsel-ache on his shoulder blades, rippling down to his lower back, and then just over that, the veneer of drugs lacing his bloodstream.   


~ _Am I drugged?_ ~  


“You passed out, they tell me.” Naoe clears his throat. “Haruie said so, actually. She’s downstairs getting coffee.” // _I made her go; she was worrying herself sick._ //  


Kagetora blinks. He _heard_ Naoe say that, but the man’s lips didn’t move. He blinks again. “I think I’m on drugs.”  


Naoe turns onto his side—it fucking _hurts_ , Kagetora feels it—but he doesn’t flinch. “I don’t know, my lord. I was in the treatment room when they admitted you.” Sadness, like a gentle undertow. “I’m sorry I couldn’t . . .” // _stay by your side._ //  


“You saved my life.”  


“No.” Naoe looks up at the ceiling. “He wasn’t after your life.” // _He wanted your soul._ //  


Kagetora _heard_ that. In his _head_. ~ _Fuck._ ~  


Naoe flicks a strange look his way. “My lord?”  


“Naoe? Can you hear this?”   


“What?”  


~ _This._ ~  


Naoe frowns.  


~ _Can you hear me?_ ~  


“Do you hear something, my lord?”  


Sighing in frustration, Kagetora shakes his head. “Nothing.”  


// _This isn’t good. He must be badly hurt. I failed._ //  


“That’s crazy!” Kagetora shouts.   


Naoe freezes. “Kage—”  


“It’s probably just the drugs.”   


“What is?” Haruie says from the door. Both men turn to look at her—she smiles brilliantly. “You two getting along, same as always?”  


“I thought Naoe told you to take a break,” Kagetora said, rubbing the back of his hand over his forehead. Fuzzy, his thoughts were fuzzy.  


She shoots an annoyed look at Naoe. “I did. I’m fine. The nurses will want to check in on you. Shall I go get them?”  


Naoe nods, but Kagetora shakes his head. “Need to get my head on straight.”  


“Kagetora-sama,” Naoe starts. // _He’s worrying me._ //  


“I’ll be all right,” Kagetora says soothingly. He doesn’t want Naoe upset after all he’s been through. “I’m all right.”  


“I’ll be convinced of that when the doctors say so,” Naoe murmurs. // _Always pushing yourself so hard. Refusing to show weakness is a weakness itself; you told me that once. You think I never listen._ //  


“Stickler for details,” Kagetora responds. ~ _I can hear Naoe’s thoughts. Or I’ve gone insane. Either can’t be good._ ~  


“I’ll go get a nurse, then?” Haruie leaves before he can stop her.   


He’s tired. “Naoe?”  


“Yes?”  


“You really all right?”  


“I am now. No worries.”  


Kagetora glares at the man. “You fucking _died_ in that ambulance. I’m too weak to help you possess a new body, even if I _could_ have found a suitable host in time. _Don’t_ tell me not to worry.”  


Naoe stares at him a moment. “I’m sorry.” // _He’s genuinely worried? No. No, don’t trust it. He’s just mad because his dog was going to leave him. Don’t believe it, Naoe._ //  


It is the _perfect_ moment to get a jab in—to tell Naoe he wasn’t allowed to die without his permission. It would have been beautiful, in its simplicity and effectiveness.   


But Kagetora can sense Naoe’s ache, the years and years of scar tissue where his heart beats, and he can’t do it. Or maybe it’s Takaya that can’t do it. Both of them are blended together in the mess that is his mind, at the moment.  


“Don’t be sorry. Just rest.” He says this as warmly as possible. “When we get home, that’s what I’m going to do. Rest.” ~ _Been tired so long._ ~  


// _Four hundred years worth of fatigue._ //  


~ _Naoe? Can you hear me? Tell me!_ ~  


Silence. Then the nurses come in and his focus is scattered between the noise and the light shining in his eyes and the barrage of questions. Naoe’s presence in his head fades into the background, so do his own memories, and Takaya comes to the surface, ready with answers about his sister, his address, his name, age, the little aches and pains.   


He gives them some bullshit story about getting mugged and Naoe stepping in to save him; says that the robber tried to burn Naoe with a flame-thrower or acid mace or something, and they buy it, because the news these days reads better than fiction. His discharge papers are in the works.  


“What about Naoe?”  


“Sir?”   


“What about Tachibana-san? When can he . . .?” He was going to say ‘come home,’ but that would’ve messed up their cover story. “When will he be better?”  


// _I need out of here now. Haruie is not enough to watch over him, and Chiaki has his hands full with Yuzuru. I have to get out of this bed._ // “I’m feeling much better now, actually.” Naoe shifts to sit up—Kagetora winces—and the older man clears his throat. “I would like a doctor to examine me and be released.”  


“Sir! You . . .” The nurse shakes her head. “It’s hospital policy not to let anyone go after crashing—excuse me, going into cardiac arrest—until at least forty-eight hours pass. And your back . . . You need medicine to help against infection and pain.”  


// _I’m not leaving him._ // “Then I shall leave against medical advice. I would appreciate it if you would return my clothes. If there’s anything left of them.”  


“Sir—”  


“Stay,” Kagetora says calmly.  


“Takaya-san,” Naoe protests.  


He can _sense_ Naoe’s resolve; that bastard is going to rip his IV out and drag himself along if he has to, just to stay by his master’s side. Kagetora sighs. “I’ll stay with you.”  


Surprise ripples through the room.   


“Just let me call my sister.”  


// _Kagetora-sama . . ._ //   


“Will you leave us for a moment?” he asks the nurse.   


She bows. “Of course. I’ll just see about your paperwork. You can use the phone on the side table if you want to make a call; just dial nine to get out.”  


“Thank you.” Kagetora waits until she leaves, watching Haruie cross over to the window, then he turns a piercing stare onto the older man. “You’re of no use to me until you’re healed. Nobunaga won’t try anything here. I will wait another day with you. Then you will come home.”  


“Takaya-san,” Haruie breathes.  


“My lord—” Naoe starts.  


“There is nothing you can say that will change my mind.” He folds his arms.  


Haruie swallows. “You’re just going to sit here, as a guest?”  


Kagetora is so tired. “I’ll sleep in a chair. Whatever. Look, this isn’t up for debate.” He takes a deep breath and forces himself to relax. “Haruie. Get the nurses back in here. Then go to my house. I’ll call my sister and tell her to expect you. Prepare my bedroom. Tomorrow, we’ll be moving Naoe there.”  


For once, he doesn’t regret telling Miya about his past, about the Feudal Era spirits and the Yashashu. It was hard for her to accept. There were tears; first, because she didn’t believe him, then, because she did.   


It’s been two months now, since he’d introduced her to the group. Yuzuru had been a big help in acting as a bridge for Miya, a visible, familiar connection between their normal world and the spiritual realm of Feudal Japan. She took her cues from him, from his ready acceptance, his calm. She’d even come to like Naoe and Haruie and Chiaki, not that he let them see much of her. He’d never let her see his powers.  


“But, Takaya-san . . .?”  


He glares. “That’s an order.”  


Haruie bristles. Naoe rubs his temples.  


// _Unbelievable. He can’t take care of me by himself and he can’t afford a home nurse. I don’t understand . . . then again, so long as I can be close to him . . ._ //  


“It’s always the same thing with you, isn’t it?” Kagetora huffs. “Don’t you ever think anything other than ‘Kagetora-sama, Kagetora-sama?’ It’s annoying.”  


“Kagetora-sama?” Naoe says, bewildered.  


“See!” Kagetora throws up his hands in exasperation. “This is going to suck.”  


“Takaya-san,” Haruie starts. “What do you mean by—”  


“I can hear him,” Kagetora mumbles into his chest. “Since we got hit by . . . whatever incantation Nobunaga used. I get pieces of his thoughts. First order of business is to patch up his back, and then I want him _out_ of my head.”  


Haruie and Naoe just stare at him like frightened cows.  


“I’m not crazy!” He sighs. “All right, I can see how it doesn’t look like it. But I’m not lying, I hear this bastard at the oddest times. Haruie, see if you can get Chiaki to do some research, see what attack could psychically link us, and how to undo it. I’m not staying like this.”  


“You . . . can hear my thoughts?” Naoe says.  


~ _Just now catching up, are we?_ ~ “Ah, yeah.”  


// _It’s not possible._ //  


“Well, I can.”  


“Wait a minute,” Haruie interrupts. “How can you be sure?”  


“What? You mean, maybe I just hit the pavement a little too hard and I’m _imagining_ Naoe’s thoughts? Do you _know_ how messed up he is in there? I couldn’t _begin_ to make this up.”  


“We should test it,” Naoe says. “I will think of something unpredictable.”  


Lifting his eyes to the ceiling, Kagetora shakes his head. “That will be the day.”  


Naoe closes his eyes. // _If you can hear me, say . . . ‘yellow.’_ //  


“Yellow.”  


“Shit.” Naoe screws his eyes shut.  


Haruie looks back and forth between them. “Lucky guess?”  


“Why can’t _you_ hear _me_?” Kagetora asks. ~ _You can’t, can you?_ ~  


Naoe looks distraught, but it’s clear he can’t really pick up anything beyond the obvious.   


“Think of something else. Doesn’t matter. Words, colors, numbers, I can even feel your back pain, which, by the way, hurts like a son of a bitch.”  


“Kagetora-sama . . .” Naoe sounds despondent. “Forgive me.”  


That makes him angry, bright and hot and so close to lashing out that he fists his sheets and forces himself to count to ten. “Think of something else.”  


_A summer day—Naoe is in a brown yugata—Kagetora swims, naked, in a wide river. He stays under too long, Naoe panics, wading knee-deep into the water before Kagetora comes up, sputtering cold water and laughing._   


// _You always were a brat._ //  


Kagetora smiles. “If you think of a memory about the two of us, it might be just that I’m lucky remembering.” Naoe’s gob-smacked expression is fast becoming endearing. “And I may be a brat, but I’m still your master.”  


“Fuck,” Naoe and Haruie say in unison.   


“Yeah. Basically.”  


“I have no privacy,” Naoe whispers, curling in on himself.  


“Well, it’s not like I _want_ to be privy to your every little worry, pal. Can’t you think quietly?” Kagetora would love nothing better than to get up and belt the older man a good one, but he’s wearing a hospital gown and who knows what the sight of his bare ass would do to a drugged-up, psychically-linked Naoe Nobutsuna.   


Pain. Sharp.   


He sucks in a breath.   


Naoe’s in pretty severe pain and clenching his teeth to keep it from showing, but he’s still pretty cut up and now he’s breaking out in a sweat.   


Kagetora gets up and goes beside the bed, pushing Naoe gently down onto his side, before he even realizes what he’s doing. “Look. Your pain? My pain. Do me a favor and stop playing the fucking hero. We’ll find a way to fix this; there’s got to be a reverse spell. In the mean time, I’d appreciate it if you’d keep the doom and gloom self-flagellations to a minimum.”  


“Kagetora-sama.” // _I love him when he’s like this . . . No! Don’t think that. Fuck, there’s nowhere to hide. Nothing left of me. It’s beyond embarrassing. He’ll just use this to kick me . . ._ //  


“Naoe.” Kagetora’s voice is soft, right beside Naoe’s ear. “Naoe. Focus. Breathe.”  


Kagetora pictures a full moon in his own mind, his own focal point from training hundreds of years past, and he holds Naoe’s hand.   


“Huh!” Naoe grunts.   


“Naoe?” Haruie asks, starting forward.  


“Focus,” Kagetora says.   


“The . . . moon . . .”  


“Yes.” Kagetora rakes Naoe’s face for a sign of recognition, but the man’s eyes are closed and he’s shaking. ~ _You can see it, can’t you?_ ~  


// _Yes. The full moon._ //  


“He _can_ read my thoughts too,” Kagetora tells Haruie quietly, pressing Naoe’s hand back down on the bed.  


Naoe’s eyes snap open. “It’s gone now.”  


“What is?” Kagetora asks.  


“You.”  


He frowns. He senses Naoe’s sudden disappointment.  


“Maybe,” Haruie says, stepping closer, “maybe it only works if you’re touching him.”  


Naoe reaches out, cups Kagetora’s face, and he wants to knock that hand away, but he can’t, because he can _feel_ how desperate Naoe is to confirm this isn’t just a bizarre dream.   


// _You pity me._ //  


~ _You’re pretty pitiful._ ~ He squeezes Naoe’s hand once, lets go, and makes his way back to his own bed, suddenly dizzy.   


Kagetora picks up the phone and nods to Haruie. “Get going. And tell the nurses it’s time for another dose of Naoe’s happy pills. His fucking headache is getting on my nerves.”  


With an apologetic shrug in Naoe’s direction, Haruie moves toward the door. “Don’t kill each other while I’m gone.”  


“Make sure Chiaki comes up with something about . . . this link thing.” He starts dialing. Yes, he is sick of surprises.   



	2. Chapter 2

> Chapter 2  
> 
> 
> The drugs spread out through Naoe’s bloodstream like dye over pristine, white cloth. It is a relief so wonderful, so blissful, that he tears up a bit.   
> 
> 
> Naoe’s back has been killing him since he first woke up in the hospital. The discovery of some sort of mental bond with Kagetora-sama overloads his already fried circuits, exhausting him. He collapses and is out for several hours, strange dreams at the fringe of his consciousness.   
> 
> 
> ***
> 
>   
> 
> 
> _School chimes.  
> _
> 
> Miya tying Takaya’s tie.   
> 
> 
> A breakfast of runny eggs and rice.   
> 
> 
> A woman’s photograph, dusty, on a bookshelf.  
> 
> 
> A man, bellowing, hurling beer bottles at Takaya’s face; they smash behind him, the sticky yellow liquid dribbles a spider web down the wall.  
> 
> 
> He can see himself in Takaya’s eyes . . . can sense that Takaya thinks he’s handsome, that Takaya takes comfort in his presence . . . that Kagetora panics every time Naoe corners him.  
> 
> 
> Why? Why?  
> 
> 
> Angry, glittering tiger’s eyes.   
> 
> 
> “I will never forgive you.”  
> 
> 
> ***
> 
>   
> 
> 
> // _Kagetora-sama._ //  
> 
> 
> “I’m here.”  
> 
> 
> Naoe blinks. Kagetora is sitting in the chair beside him, decked out in blue hospital scrubs, legs curled up under himself, cheek resting on the back of his hand.   
> 
> 
> “I’d ask how you’re feeling, but I can already tell.” Kagetora hands him a cup of water.   
> 
> 
> He takes a long sip.   
> 
> 
> “The drugs knocked you on your ass. Two more hours, and if you don’t fuck it up, we can take you home.”  
> 
> 
> Naoe frowns. // _Home?_ //  
> 
> 
> ~ _My house._ ~  
> 
> 
> // _Oh._ //  
> 
> 
> Kagetora closes his eyes for a moment; it’s like a warm palm ghosts over Naoe from head to toe, checking his injuries, then delving deep into the jelly of his mind, and he can’t suppress a shudder.   
> 
> 
> // _I can sense you._ //  
> 
> 
> “I can sense that you sense me.” Kagetora smiles. “We’re very sensible people.”  
> 
> 
> “Kagetora-sama. What are we going to do?”  
> 
> 
> The younger man frowns and it looks adorable, but the minute he thinks that, Kagetora becomes resentful and the frown turns into a scowl. // _Sorry. I can’t help my thoughts._ //  
> 
> 
> ~ _You’ll help it if I BEAT you enough,_ ~ Kagetora threatens.  
> 
> 
> Naoe snickers. “What are we going to do?” he repeats.  
> 
> 
> “You’re healing pretty fast. I heard the nurses and doctors talking about it. They wanted to do a case study on you. I said no. I’m taking you home. You don’t mind leaving against medical advice, right? ’Cause otherwise this hospital’s going to strap you to that bed.” Kagetora shifts his weight from one foot to the other.  
> 
> 
> Naoe pauses. “I’m going with you. What are we going to do about . . . ?”  
> 
> 
> “Chiaki will figure something out. Right now, we’ve got to get you home, get you healed. We’ll figure out the bond later.”  
> 
> 
> “The bond?”  
> 
> 
> “That’s what Chiaki calls it.”  
> 
> 
> So. Kagetora’s had several hours to come to terms with this and apparently has resigned himself to the fact that they can ferret out intimate details about each other. The temptation to snoop is great. He stretches out, thinks hard, trying to figure out what Kagetora actually feels for him, but it earns him a deadly glare.   
> 
> 
> ~ _I’ll forgive you for that because you’re still hopped up on drugs, but don’t push me._ ~  
> 
> 
> // _Sorry. I just . . ._ // Coherent thought really isn’t possible.   
> 
> 
> “You gonna be all right enough to make it home? Your back isn’t anywhere near all better.”  
> 
> 
> “Yes. I am going with you.”  
> 
> 
> Kagetora nods. At least they don’t have to waste time arguing about the things on which Naoe won’t bend.   
> 
> 
> Amusement tickles along their thread. ~ _Stubborn prick._ ~  
> 
> 
> // _Like you have room to talk._ //  
> 
> 
> Kagetora playfully throws a pillow at his head. For a moment, Naoe is startled, but then he smiles. “Pestering the wounded, for shame.”  
> 
> 
> “I was wondering how long it would take you to play that card. The poor, suffering invalid.” Kagetora leans over the bedrail. “I haven’t cut you slack in so many generations, I’ve lost count. Don’t think I’m about to now, just because you were too stupid to duck out of Nobunaga’s reach.”  
> 
> 
> _Don’t you dare fucking die on me!_   
> 
> 
> The echo crashes over him—the events of the night from Kagetora’s point of view. The panic. The guilt. The . . . raw fear.   
> 
> 
> The way he carried Naoe on his back.  
> 
> 
> Kagetora doesn’t want him to see this, so Naoe politely lowers his gaze and nods. “I never said protecting your ass was one of the most intelligent commitments I’ve ever made.”  
> 
> 
> The younger man smirks and reaches up as if he’s going to hit him, but the hand lowers gently, lightly tapping Naoe’s arm, and it _sizzles_ up into Naoe’s nerves; it feels wonderful, so good, in fact, that Kagetora jumps back, wide-eyed.  
> 
> 
> “What the hell was that?”  
> 
> 
> “I don’t know.” Naoe blinks. “Try it again?”  
> 
> 
> “No!”  
> 
> 
> There are times when Kagetora looks so _young_ , so naïve, it makes Naoe want to wrap him up tight in an embrace and kiss him hard.  
> 
> 
> ~ _Stop it._ ~  
> 
> 
> // _What would you have me do? Meditate about a puffy white cloud until Chiaki pulls some magic antidote out of thin air?_ //  
> 
> 
> “Yeah, basically, that would be good. Or, I was thinking, we could just keep you drugged. It’s pretty quiet up here,” Kagetora taps his head, “when you’re high. A man can think in peace.”  
> 
> 
> Naoe doesn’t have the heart to tell him he could dream each one of Takaya’s painful nightmares, could sense Kagetora’s feelings even while unconscious. The illusion of privacy was threadbare, a rice-paper screen between them, a barrier of make believe.  
> 
> 
> His stomach growls. Naoe would blush, if his body didn’t feel bloodless already. He shivers.   
> 
> 
> “Oh boy, oh boy,” Kagetora murmurs, pulling the blanket up to Naoe’s shoulders. “I can see I’m bringing home a sick puppy. Maybe we should stay here.”  
> 
> 
> “No.” // _He’ll find you here and besides, I hate hospitals._ //  
> 
> 
> _Antiseptic smell.  
> _
> 
> Waiting in hard chairs, worrying.  
> 
> 
> Minako. So much blood.  
> 
> 
> Kagetora inhales sharply and gets up. “I’d o-order you something for dinner,” he says, voice tremulous, “but my sister is going to want to fix you homemade meals. So for now, why don’t I just call up some miso soup with udon noodles?”  
> 
> 
> “Thank you.” He looks down at his hospital gown. “Kagetora-sama?”  
> 
> 
> ~ _What?_ ~  
> 
> 
> “How bad does my back look?”  
> 
> 
> ~ _Vanity, Naoe?_ ~ “I can’t see. They make me leave when they change the bandages. Haruie will know how to do that when we get home.” ~ _I’m sure as hell not going near it._ ~  
> 
> 
> “I see.”  
> 
> 
> Kagetora blinks. “I’m sure it will heal swiftly, under her care.”  
> 
> 
> // _Will he think me hideous, if it scars too badly?_ // Naoe still won’t look up.   
> 
> 
> The younger man picks up the phone. “Battle scars like that give you bragging rights.” ~ _Besides, I don’t keep you around because of your good looks and charm._ ~  
> 
> 
> // _Kagetora-sama . . ._ //  
> 
> 
> ~ _Oh, shut up. I’m on the phone._ ~  
> 
> 
> *
> 
>   
> 
> 
> When the tray arrives from the cafeteria, Naoe forces himself not to bolt his food. Kagetora sits on the windowsill, silently keeping his eyes on Naoe. He’s too hungry to be bothered by it, besides, it’s not like Kagetora can’t feel the warm soup slosh down into the pit of his belly.   
> 
> 
> “Mm.”  
> 
> 
> A smirk. ~ _Think that’s good? Wait until Miya cooks for you._ ~  
> 
> 
> // _I’m very grateful._ //  
> 
> 
> ~ _Kiss off._ ~ “I talked to the nurse. They’re working up your AMA release papers; man, are these doctors pissed that you’re going. I’ve got instructions for you that run on forever. Pain in my ass.” As he says this, Kagetora hands him a napkin.  
> 
> 
> “Thank you,” Naoe says reflexively. “I feel much better.”  
> 
> 
> “You’re healing faster than anyone could predict,” Kagetora says softly.   
> 
> 
> Naoe frowns. “That might be you. I mean, _this_. Maybe it’s because of this.”  
> 
> 
> “It’s definitely because of that,” Chiaki says from the doorway. Haruie stands behind him, up on her tiptoes in order to see over Chiaki’s bony shoulder. “Your body’s sucking off Kagetora’s energy in order to get better, which explains why he slept so damn much of the day away.”  
> 
> 
> Before Naoe can comment, the younger man sternly interrupts, “What did you find out, Chiaki?”  
> 
> 
> “Not much.” Chiaki breezes into the room. “Especially with Yuzuru bugging me about you every five minutes. Please try to remember that I’ve had less than a day to figure this out. I’ll need to go to a bigger library than the one in my study. I’ve no idea what Nobunaga did to you, or even if he _intended_ to do this to you. I did a little legwork on psychic bonds. Some are deep, some are pretty light and people can go through their whole lives thinking they’re just in simpatico.”  
> 
> 
> “The degree of difference . . .” Naoe starts.  
> 
> 
> “Depends on the closeness of the pair,” Chiaki finishes. “So, basically, you’re fucked. Four hundred years of history, plus both of you already linked as Possessors, I’m guessing we’re doing good if you two can tell where one of you ends and the other begins.” He smiles mirthlessly.  
> 
> 
> “Undo it,” Kagetora orders.  
> 
> 
> “How’s that?” Chiaki asks.  
> 
> 
> Kagetora answers immediately, “Kill Tachibana and have Naoe take another . . . host.”  
> 
> 
> “Wait a minute!” Haruie protests. “Kagetora-sama, think for a moment. It might not work. We don’t know if a spell or new incarnation _could_ separate you, and if we play around, we could do irreparable damage to your psyches, maybe even turn you into vegetables. This isn’t going to be a quick fix.”  
> 
> 
> Naoe can sense the impending blow-up building in his master, and he reaches out, wrapping his fingers around Kagetora’s forearm. It’s cold. The man’s bleeding energy. It still feels good to touch him. “Kagetora-sama,” he says softly. “This is counterproductive.”   
> 
> 
> Kagetora’s shoulders relax slightly. He still glares daggers at Chiaki and Haruie, however. “I’ll go check on that paperwork.”  
> 
> 
> The younger man stomps off, leaving Naoe alone in the room with the others. His head hurts, his back is raw, and he’s tired, but the nauseated agony is gone, at least.   
> 
> 
> “Naoe, are you all right?” Haruie asks.  
> 
> 
> // _Not really._ // “I’m fine. It’s a lot to adjust to. It’s going to be . . . very difficult . . . Kagetora is a man that closely guards his space.”  
> 
> 
> “No shit,” Chiaki says. “You’d think the man had _issues_ or something.”  
> 
> 
> “Nagahide,” Haruie admonishes. “Are you really well enough to leave the hospital, Naoe?”  
> 
> 
> “My place is by his side.” Naoe smiles. “I don’t suppose they’ve got a pair of scrubs somewhere around here? My regular clothes didn’t survive the ordeal, I’m afraid.”  
> 
> 
> While Haruie looks around for something he could wear, Chiaki goes to the window. “Naoe. Test the bond now.”  
> 
> 
> “What?”  
> 
> 
> “See if you can hear him when he’s not near you.”  
> 
> 
> // _Kagetora-sama?_ //  
> 
> 
> ~ _What’s wrong?_ ~ Kagetora shoots back, alarmed.  
> 
> 
> // _Nothing. Just testing._ // He expects a growl of frustration from the younger man, but there’s nothing.  
> 
> 
> Then, ~ _It’s getting stronger now that you’re weaning off the major drugs._ ~  
> 
> 
> “It’s getting stronger as the drugs wear off,” he says to Chiaki. “We can still sense each other.”  
> 
> 
> “I thought so.” The man sighs, letting his hair out of the ponytail holder, gathering it up again, and replacing the tie. He pushes up his glasses. “Haruie and I have bets on who’s going to kill the other first.”  
> 
> 
> “Nagahide!” Haruie moans. “This is serious. The master and Naoe could be linked like this for who knows how long! They could go insane!”  
> 
> 
> “I think,” Naoe clears his throat, “the argument could be made that we’re already there, if not pretty close. Look. Just . . . I’m going to need your help. Kagetora-sama wants to go home; I want out of here. Let’s cross the other bridges when we get to them.”  
> 
> 
> They nod, and then the nurse comes back in. Thankfully, Haruie deals with almost everything, pointing to where he’s supposed to sign, reading over the instructions carefully.   
> 
> 
> “Where’s Kagetora?” Chiaki asks.  
> 
> 
> “Getting my medicine at the pharmacy counter,” Naoe supplies effortlessly.   
> 
> 
> His companions look at him. “He told you that?” Haruie asks.  
> 
> 
> “No.” Naoe cocks his head. “I just . . . I know it.”  
> 
> 
> “Uh huh.” Chiaki blinks. “So fucked,” he mutters.  
> 
> 
> The evening attendant comes with Naoe’s wheelchair. Haruie helps him into scrubs while Chiaki bothers with the wheelchair’s footrests.   
> 
> 
> It’s not long before Kagetora saunters back in. “Got your medicine.” ~ _It was expensive._ ~  
> 
> 
> // _I’ll pay you back, of course._ //  
> 
> 
> ~ _Damn right you will._ ~ “Why is he going in a wheelchair? There’s nothing wrong with his legs.”  
> 
> 
> “Standard hospital procedure, sir,” the attendant supplies, helping Naoe to sit down.   
> 
> 
> It hurts both Naoe and Kagetora.  
> 
> 
> // _Despite the rapid healing, I think it’s going to take me a while to be able to move freely,_ // Naoe apologizes.  
> 
> 
> “Okay,” Kagetora breathes, his face relaxing when Naoe finally gets comfortable in the seat. “Chiaki, the car?”  
> 
> 
> “Yeah, yeah. Can see you remember which of us fetches.” Chiaki sticks his tongue out, but he’s already heading for the door.   
> 
> 
> The attendant begins to wheel Naoe out when Kagetora practically steps over her to put his hands on the handlebars. “I’ve got him.”  
> 
> 
> // _Possessive._ //  
> 
> 
> “No, I’m not.” ~ _Mine!_ ~  
> 
> 
> “Sir?” the attendant asks, confused.  
> 
> 
> Naoe palms his face as Kagetora quickly wheels him down the hall and toward the elevator.  
> 
> 
> *
> 
>   
> 
> 
> The ride home is quiet. At least, outwardly quiet. Inwardly, Naoe is carefully going over the scene he’d walked in on two nights ago, picking apart every detail of the fight, trying to figure out what happened. Kagetora is right there with him, supplying the details where there are gaps in his memory.  
> 
> 
> ***
> 
>   
> 
> 
> _It was late. They’d fought. Kagetora threatened to kill himself just to get out of Naoe’s presence. The younger man stormed out. Naoe waited a few minutes, but felt the inevitable pull toward his master, like a string behind his navel, the minute Nobunaga engaged him in a fight.  
> _
> 
> Judging from the images in Kagetora’s mind, he’d been walking in the park, not really paying attention, when Nobunaga sprung on him. They’d traded blast after blast, but Kagetora was tired, drained, and saddened—he wasn’t as focused as his opponent. His shields weren’t as strong.  
> 
> 
> Nobunaga kept insisting that Kagetora couldn’t avoid his fate.   
> 
> 
> The thought made Naoe shiver. Pure dread bubbled up inside him.  
> 
> 
> Then Naoe caught up to them, put up a barrier to deflect the debris of Nobunaga’s cyclone, took down the barrier to let Kagetora fire . . . For all intents and purposes, Nobunaga couldn’t be so easily killed, but the blow should have been enough to get away unscathed.   
> 
> 
> Didn’t turn out that way.  
> 
> 
> Nobunaga hurled something at them, Naoe never saw what and Kagetora remembered it only as a beam of laser-red light, and the next thing Naoe knew, he was in a world of pain.  
> 
> 
> ***
> 
>   
> 
> 
> Kagetora winces when the memory assaults him.   
> 
> 
> // _I’m sorry._ //  
> 
> 
> ~ _Me too. That sucked ass._ ~  
> 
> 
> “They’re doing it,” Chiaki mutters.  
> 
> 
> “I know. It’s kinda creepy.” Haruie folds her arms and looks out the window.   
> 
> 
> Kagetora says, “It’s not like—”  
> 
> 
> “We can avoid it,” Naoe finishes.  
> 
> 
> “Unbelievable,” Chiaki sighs.   
> 
> 
> Haruie shudders.  
> 
> 
> “Haruie, give me the pills,” Kagetora demands.  
> 
> 
> “It’s not candy, you know.”  
> 
> 
> “He’s in pain.”  
> 
> 
> “I’m fine,” Naoe insists. // _I’d prefer it if you didn’t do that, Kagetora-sama._ //  
> 
> 
> ~ _I’d prefer it if you’d get the fuck out of my head, but if wishes were fishes, the sea would be empty. You hurt._ ~  
> 
> 
> // _It’s not past bearing. I thought you liked pain?_ //  
> 
> 
> Kagetora chokes.  
> 
> 
> “Forgive me, that was out of line,” Naoe hastens. He could feel Kagetora’s dark thoughts.   
> 
> 
> “Naoe,” Kagetora says simply. “If you become much more of a nuisance, I’m considering killing you.”  
> 
> 
> “Yes, my lord.”  
> 
> 
> ~ _Can you make it without the pill?_ ~  
> 
> 
> // _I’m not supposed to have another until ten._ //  
> 
> 
> “What time is it?” Kagetora asks, impatiently bouncing his knee up and down, up and down.   
> 
> 
> “Seven-thirty,” Chiaki answers.  
> 
> 
> “Damn it.” Kagetora glares out the window.   
> 
> 
> The rest of the ride, mercifully, is pretty uneventful. Naoe practices his meditation techniques until he almost has his mind completely blank. Kagetora is still there, hovering, a constant presence, but it isn’t so awkward.   
> 
> 
> Naoe isn’t sure he wants it to feel _familiar_ , either. He focuses on his breathing, calming down, ignoring the pain, and eventually he can feel Kagetora mellow out too, as a result.   
> 
> 
> “We’re here,” Haruie says gently.  
> 
> 
> Only then does Naoe realize that he’d been leaning on Kagetora. To take the pressure off his back, of course. // _It also feels good to touch him._ //  
> 
> 
> ~ _You are such a pervert, Nobutsuna._ ~  
> 
> 
> There’s no denying the truth.  
> 
> 
> Naoe groans when Haruie helps him out of the car, but then Kagetora comes around beside him, tossing Chiaki the house keys and carefully draping Naoe’s arm around his shoulders.   
> 
> 
> ~ _Mine._ ~  
> 
> 
> // _No one’s disputing you on that. Haruie is just doing what you asked of her._ //  
> 
> 
> ~ _Haruie is doing what comes naturally. She’s instinctively nurturing, and always was. That doesn’t change the fact that, while we’ve tied this knot, I’M responsible for your lamed ass. Shut up an put more weight on me, I can handle more._ ~  
> 
> 
> He leans on Kagetora a bit, feeling the younger man’s body heat, sensing some of his power bleed over into him, and his back hurts a little less, his mind feels slightly less clouded; the respite is welcome.   
> 
> 
> They help him into the house; he smiles warmly at Takaya’s sister, but the effort of walking up the stairs breaks him out into a cold sweat, and he shivers, until finally, Kagetora lowers him to the futon.  
> 
> 
> “How long should he have those bandages?” Kagetora murmurs to Haruie.  
> 
> 
> “I’ll redress them tomorrow.”  
> 
> 
> “What about food?”  
> 
> 
> “He should eat before the next pill,” Haruie says with certainty.   
> 
> 
> “So for right now, he can just rest?”   
> 
> 
> “Yes.”  
> 
> 
> Kagetora goes over and dims the light so that it’s not so hard on the eyes, and Naoe is grateful. Then Kagetora says to Haruie, “Should we put a blanket on him? He’s cold. But he’s sweating.”  
> 
> 
> “Let’s keep him warm. A light blanket will do.”  
> 
> 
> “I’ll be right back.” Kagetora pops out, leaving the door ajar, and Naoe locks eyes with Haruie.  
> 
> 
> She gives him a _look_. “You’re really in it now, aren’t you?”  
> 
> 
> Naoe sighs.   
> 
> 
> “What’s it like? What’s _he_ like? Do you understand him?” Haruie’s curiosity is endearing.  
> 
> 
> “Confused. He’s . . . he’s so quick to get angry, like that’s his way of gaining control, but . . . but then switches right around and thinks something . . . sweet.”  
> 
> 
> “ _Sweet_?”  
> 
> 
> “I can’t see a clear line anymore, between Takaya and Kagetora-sama, when the master was young . . .” Naoe shakes his head. He wants another pill. // _Soon. Soon. Just a few more hours._ // “He’s more concerned than he likes to let on. But we already knew that.”  
> 
> 
> “Well, yes, four centuries, you learn a thing or two. I was hoping you’d figured something else out.”  
> 
> 
> “I’m in too much pain, Haruie—”  
> 
> 
> “Here’s the blanket,” Kagetora interrupts. He comes in and wraps Naoe up tight. “Haruie. In the future? Try to remember I can hear his thoughts. If you’re going to talk about me, I’m going to know about it.”  
> 
> 
> “Sorry, Kagetora-sama.” Haruie bows.  
> 
> 
> “It’s all right. Go on downstairs. Miya’s warming up dinner for everyone. Eat up, because you’re gonna need your strength.”  
> 
> 
> “And you?”  
> 
> 
> “I’ll be down in a minute.”  
> 
> 
> “As you wish.” She bows and leaves.  
> 
> 
> Naoe watches Kagetora closely. He’s more relaxed at home; feels more in control. He can sense that the younger man is uncertain about boundaries, about how to help, and _if_ he should help. But Kagetora doesn’t feel so off-kilter here, and he’s grateful for that, at least.   
> 
> 
> // _Was there something you wanted, my lord?_ //  
> 
> 
> “I just . . .” ~ _No. I just wanted to check on you._ ~  
> 
> 
> Naoe smiles. “I’m much better.”  
> 
> 
> “You’re an excellent liar, Naoe. If I weren’t linked with you, I’d almost believe it.”  
> 
> 
> // _But I do feel much better!_ //  
> 
> 
> ~ _No, you feel a little LESS shitty._ ~  
> 
> 
> “Good point.” Naoe blinks. He’s tired.   
> 
> 
> “If I bring you up some steamed rice and sukiyaki, will you eat it like a good little boy?” Kagetora asks with a smirk.  
> 
> 
> “Yes, Mother.”  
> 
> 
> He’s hungry. His body wants more food, more calories, more energy, more heat. Naoe begins to understand the term ‘ravishing’ in a whole new light.  
> 
> 
> Kagetora quirks an eyebrow. ~ _Be right back._ ~  
> 
> 
> It’s surreal. He lies there, staring up at the ceiling, but all he has to do is reach out and he can see Kagetora pad his way down the stairs in his white slippers, can see him walk into the kitchen, kiss his little sister on the forehead, scoop up the rice and meat . . . He can _feel_ Kagetora’s simple pleasure in this—in having a full house, in being able to _do_ something for Naoe.  
> 
> 
> And underneath that, on a low note, he gets feedback from himself. He can feel Kagetora’s discomfort at his own pain. It’s bizarre. He doesn’t like hurting Kagetora like this, but he’s totally powerless to stop it.  
> 
> 
> ~ _Any time you want to quit the martyr routine, I’ll be waiting._ ~  
> 
> 
> Naoe grins. // _Can’t teach an old dog new tricks. And you were the one who taught this dog to recognize his flaws._ //  
> 
> 
> “Well, knock it off for now,” Kagetora says, padding back in the room carefully so as not to spill the dinner tray. “It’s dinner time. I fully expect you to drool over this and thank Miya profusely.”  
> 
> 
> // _Deal_.//  
> 
> 
> Naoe tries to sit up but it feels like someone took steel wool to his back. Kagetora actually convulses in sympathy, dropping the tray the last two inches to the floor.   
> 
> 
> “Naoe . . .” he murmurs solemnly.  
> 
> 
> “I’m sorry.”  
> 
> 
> “I’ll come to you.” Kagetora reaches out, touches him, so warm, so warm, and Naoe feels centered, has something to focus on other than the pain. ~ _Don’t expect me to feed you, asshole._ ~  
> 
> 
> With a deep breath, Naoe reaches out with his right hand and picks up the chopsticks. The slender wooden ohashi shake a bit as he gathers up some sticky rice. Kagetora watches closely as he takes his first bite.  
> 
> 
> // _Plum?_ //  
> 
> 
> ~ _She sweetens the water with sugar and plum wine, like Mom did._ ~  
> 
> 
> // _Your mother?_ //  
> 
> 
> ~ _Takaya’s mother. My mother. Whatever, it all feels the same in my head._ ~  
> 
> 
> “Ah.” He eats more, and quickly, the food feeling good going down, despite the lump in his throat and the low-grade fever spiking at the back of his neck. Kagetora sits next to him, still touching his forearm, waiting patiently for him to finish.   
> 
> 
> It doesn’t take long and when he’s done, Kagetora lowers him back to the bed because he’s shaking like leaf. “It was a feast,” he murmurs.  
> 
> 
> ~ _It was leftovers, idiot,_ ~ Kagetora chides gently, tucking the blanket up under Naoe’s chin. “Yuzuru called. He’s coming over. I think he’s just wants to make sure I’m not bat-shit insane by now. I’m going downstairs to eat . . . I’ll send Haruie up with the pill.”  
> 
> 
> // _Where’s Kagetora-sama going to sleep tonight?_ //  
> 
> 
> Kagetora pauses. “I’ll be back.” ~ _I don’t like leaving Naoe alone, but . . ._ ~  
> 
> 
> “I’m not alone,” Naoe assures. “You’re in here.”  
> 
> 
> “Right.”  
> 
> 
> *
> 
>   
> 
> 
> Naoe flutters in and out of sleep until Haruie comes in, makes him take his pill and swallow half a glass of water, and then she says something about bedding down next to him in case there’s trouble in the night.  
> 
> 
> ~ _Tell her I will do that,_ ~ Kagetora firmly insists from the kitchen.  
> 
> 
> “He says he’ll do that,” Naoe grates out. “I don’t know why.”  
> 
> 
> “I think it makes him anxious to be away from you for long,” Haruie whispers, like if she’s quiet, Kagetora won’t hear.  
> 
> 
> ~ _Tell her to spend time with Miya. The girls can share her room. Chiaki is taking Yuzuru home. Tomorrow they will both do some research. I’ll be upstairs soon._ ~  
> 
> 
> Naoe relays the message.  
> 
> 
> “You know, it’s almost like the two of you are having fun, giving orders twice as fast this way.” Haruie gives him a little half-smile. “Naoe. Are you sure? I can make him let me stay.”  
> 
> 
> Naoe snickers, because, no, she really can’t, but it’s adorable of her to offer. “Go. Get your rest. And thank you.”  
> 
> 
> “Good night.”  
> 
> 
> “ ’Night, Haruie.”  
> 
> 
> Kagetora’s a pleasant hum in the back of his brain, getting ready for bed, brushing his teeth—he hasn’t brushed _his_ teeth in two days—turning off the lights.   
> 
> 
> ~ _I never figured you were this vain._ ~ Kagetora walks into the room with an extra futon.  
> 
> 
> // _Just where you’re concerned._ // The thought slips out before he can think of some other retort, but Kagetora graciously lets it slide.   
> 
> 
> “I don’t suppose either of us could try _not_ dreaming about rapes and suicides tonight?” the younger man says lightly.  
> 
> 
> “I’ll do my best, Kagetora-sama,” Naoe bitterly replies. // _Or drunken fathers._ //  
> 
> 
> ~ _Fuck you._ ~  
> 
> 
> // _I didn’t mean for you to hear that!_ //  
> 
> 
> ~ _Well, I fucking did!_ ~  
> 
> 
> // _Well, get the fuck over it, because I can’t shelter you from everything, much as I wish I could!_ // Man, he wants a cigarette.  
> 
> 
> “Oh, no.” ~ _Definitely no smoking while you’re sick. Come to think of it, quit. I’m not taking all this effort to save Tachibana’s body just to have it die of cancer._ ~  
> 
> 
> // _Kagetora . . ._ //  
> 
> 
> ~ _You can consider it an order if you like._ ~  
> 
> 
> // _It’s MY body. If I want to court cancer then that’s not really your concern._ //  
> 
> 
> ~ _Naoe, EVERYTHING about you is my concern. I’m done arguing about it. As long as we’re stuck together, you can just forget about cigarettes. You may look cool having one dangle from the corner of your mouth, but I don’t like the smell. So suck it._ ~  
> 
> 
> He can tell Kagetora means it. He lets lose a scathing string of expletives along their bond.  
> 
> 
> Naoe and Kagetora stare at each other for several beats. Kagetora deflates. “Since when do you talk like that? You are the most infuriating bastard.”  
> 
> 
> “Second only to yourself, my lord.”  
> 
> 
> Kagetora chuckles. He pulls his bed up close to Naoe and nestles in, leaving the dim light on in the corner.   
> 
> 
> The drugs kick in; tension is melting from Naoe’s spine and his mind unraveling fast.   
> 
> 
> “Whoa, what a rush,” Kagetora murmurs.  
> 
> 
> “Ya huh.” Naoe blinks sleepily.  
> 
> 
> Kagetora reaches out and covers Naoe’s eyelids with his hand, effectively closing them. “Go to sleep.”  
> 
> 
> “Kagetora-ssamaaa . . .” Naoe slurs. // _If we can’t find a way out of this, I will kill Tachibana for your sake._ //  
> 
> 
> The younger man takes his chin in an iron grip. “ _You_ will die when _I_ say it’s time. Your life belongs to me, as you promised long ago. Don’t even think like that, Naoe.”  
> 
> 
> // _But I’m a burden to you._ //  
> 
> 
> ~ _Since when is this news? Besides, I will begrudgingly admit I rather like the body you have now. It would take too much effort to get used to something new._ ~  
> 
> 
> // _But . . ._ //  
> 
> 
> ~ _ **I FORBID it.**_ ~ “You understand?”  
> 
> 
> Naoe frowns because Kagetora is both at once furious and endeared. It produces a brittle sort of ache in him. “I . . . understand.”  
> 
> 
> ~ _Good._ ~ Kagetora’s hand travels down his chin, his throat, resting overtop his heart. Naoe’s last thought before slipping into the gray is that Kagetora’s life force is feeding him through that connection, but it’s too heavy a thought to maintain, and so he drops it like a stone and sinks into sleep.  
> 
> 
> When he wakes up in the early morning, Kagetora’s hand is still there, his black hair spilling onto Naoe’s pillow, his breath puffing across Naoe’s face.   
> 
> 
> // _I love you._ //  
> 
> 
> Kagetora doesn’t register this thought consciously, but he smiles in his sleep.   
> 
> 
>   
>   
> 


	3. Chapter 3

> Chapter 3  
> 
> 
>   
> 
> 
> It’s like a large bird has encircled him with its huge wings, the down heavy and soft, almost tickling. A brat like him clings to that kind of security with both hands.  
> 
> 
> Kagetora is very tired and his body doesn’t want to uncurl from whatever cocoons him, but an ache is creeping up on him, at first dull, but now more insistent, traveling from his lower back up to the base of his head. Eventually, he’s _throbbing_.  
> 
> 
> “I’m sorry,” Naoe murmurs.  
> 
> 
> He snaps his eyes open. The first thing he sees is Naoe’s stubbled chin, then the tangled sheets, and he realizes that he’s crawled halfway over onto the older man’s futon, his hand planted firmly against Naoe’s pectoral.  
> 
> 
> “What?”  
> 
> 
> “I need another pill. I’m sorry,” Naoe says softly.  
> 
> 
> Kagetora bolts up. “Yes. Right. Where’s Haruie?”  
> 
> 
> “I don’t know.” Naoe grunts.  
> 
> 
> “I’ll get her.”  
> 
> 
> He goes quickly to Miya’s room and finds Haruie slumped over on three stacked pillows, drooling. It would be funny, if his back wasn’t killing him.   
> 
> 
> “Haruie.” Cold. Cold as ice.  
> 
> 
> “Huh wha?”  
> 
> 
> “Naoe needs his medicine.”  
> 
> 
> Haruie pushes herself up off the floor and shakes her head a little. “Dresser.” She points to the little plastic orange bottle on top of Miya’s chemistry textbook.   
> 
> 
> Snatching it up, he glares at her. “What time was he supposed to get them?”  
> 
> 
> “Um.” She swallows. “Eight.”  
> 
> 
> It’s nine-thirty. “Haruie.”  
> 
> 
> “Oniichan,” Miya says groggily. “Kakizaki-san has been up for almost three nights in a row. Stop pestering her and go see to Nobutsuna-san.”  
> 
> 
> He’d glare at Miya, but even with Kagetora in control and Takaya shut firmly away these days, he can’t do it. “Right.”  
> 
> 
> // _Kagetora-sama?_ //  
> 
> 
> ~ _I’m coming. Hang on._ ~ “Haruie, get it together and then let’s redress those bandages?”  
> 
> 
> “Yes, Kagetora-sama.”  
> 
> 
> “Oniichan? It’s still so strange to hear people call you Kagetora.”  
> 
> 
> Kagetora starts. “Ah. I’m still me.” He pats Miya on the head. “Go back to sleep?”  
> 
> 
> “Mm. I’m up now.”  
> 
> 
> Haruie looks like she wants to swallow her own tongue. “I need coffee. Does anyone else need coffee?”  
> 
> 
> “I’ll . . . I’ll go make some for you, Kakizaki-san.” Miya smiles at her, then at him, and gets out of bed.   
> 
> 
> “We’ll set an alarm to keep him on schedule,” Kagetora says, snatching up Miya’s Hello Kitty clock. He tosses it to Haruie. “Fix it to whatever time the instructions say he gets his next dose.”  
> 
> 
> “I’m very sorry; I have no excuse.” Haruie bows.  
> 
> 
> Kagetora frowns. He doesn’t say she’s forgiven, but he shrugs. “Coffee. Bandages.”  
> 
> 
> “Right.”  
> 
> 
> Naoe’s panting slightly when he comes back in the room. Sunshine streams through the blinds, falling like bars across the older man’s face. He’s really gorgeous, there’s just no denying it.  
> 
> 
> // _Say that after you see my back._ //  
> 
> 
> Kagetora shakes his head. “Here.” He holds out two pills but Naoe can barely lift his hand for all the shaking. “All right. Just hold on.”  
> 
> 
> He carefully slips his hand under Naoe’s neck and lifts him just a little bit, a forty-five-degree angle at most, and places the pills on the older man’s white-coated tongue. Then he holds a glass of water to Naoe’s lips. He can sense Naoe’s exhaustion, but the man’s eyes look brighter, more . . . ‘switched on’ . . . when they touch.   
> 
> 
> // _It almost doesn’t hurt if you touch me._ //  
> 
> 
> “Hm.” Kagetora frowns, lowering Naoe back down. _I won’t abandon you._  
> 
> 
> “Kagetora-sama . . .”  
> 
> 
> “If you say—or think—anything remotely sappy or squishy or stupid, I _will_ kill you. Just . . . just relax. Do that meditating thing again; that was nice.”   
> 
> 
> Naoe closes his eyes. “Do you remember when we used to meditate together? I would give you an object, a red leaf, or a stone or something, for you to picture, until you were focused.”  
> 
> 
> ~ _Yes._ ~  
> 
> 
> // _You always picked the moon. I see that now. Why?_ //  
> 
> 
> ~ _There was a full moon on the night I left the Hojo._ ~ Unbidden, the images of his last conversation with his brother—before his innocence was lost—creeps up behind his eyes. And Naoe can’t help but share this vision. It’s a private moment, something he’s guarded closely all this time, but now Naoe knows too, and rather than be angry, Kagetora feels . . . unburdened.   
> 
> 
> “I’m convinced your brother loved you very much,” Naoe assures.  
> 
> 
> “Love?” Kagetora removes his hands and instantly can sense the difference—nothing’s pulling on him now—saying, “Love doesn’t mean he wouldn’t hesitate to snap my neck, if it served Hojo’s purposes.”  
> 
> 
> He thinks about being trapped in a mirror; Naoe picks up on this; he picks up on Naoe’s panic that time, when the older man’s hands pressed against the glass, confusion and fear bubbling up at the sight of Kagetora, trapped.   
> 
> 
> There’s nothing to be said.  
> 
> 
> “Here I am!” Haruie says cheerfully, bursting in the room without knocking because her hands are full of bundles of gauze. “Ah . . . interrupting something? The air feels heavy in here.”  
> 
> 
> “No.” Kagetora swallows. “It’s nothing. Let’s do this.”  
> 
> 
> Haruie cocks her head. “You’re going to stay?”  
> 
> 
> “Yeah. Teach me how to do it.”  
> 
> 
> Naoe’s discomfort at this comes rippling through his consciousness; he never thought the older man could feel so awkward.   
> 
> 
> ~ _Dumb ass. How much have we been through? You’re inside my damn head. How can you be embarrassed?_ ~  
> 
> 
> // _How long before you use this against me too?_ // The thought is so hateful, so on-the-edge-of-insane, that Kagetora actually steps back.  
> 
> 
> ~ _I do this to him?_ ~  
> 
> 
> Naoe glares at him. // _Like you don’t know._ //  
> 
> 
> “Okay, boys. That’ll do.” Haruie steps between them, hands spread out at her sides. “Let’s save the fighting for when Naoe’s patched up and you guys are back in your own skulls. Taking the melodrama into your own minds leaves me and Chiaki out of the fun.” She starts unraveling the bandages and says sharply to Kagetora, “Turn him over and sit him up.”  
> 
> 
> Kagetora pauses a minute just because he doesn’t like taking orders, and then he reaches out for Naoe. Gripping the man’s forearms, he hauls Naoe up.   
> 
> 
> The older man gasps. Kagetora freezes. It feels _so good_. A jolt of pleasure zaps up his arms. He pulls Naoe closer just on base instinct, and Naoe wraps his arms around Kagetora’s shoulders and just _holds on_.   
> 
> 
> They’re both breathing heavy.  
> 
> 
> “Okay,” Haruie says. “What’s going on?”  
> 
> 
> “I—don’t—know,” Kagetora grounds out.   
> 
> 
> “Kagetora-sama,” Naoe breathes.   
> 
> 
> “Well, whatever it is,” Haruie steps around him and begins unclipping the bandages’ brads, “keep doing it.”  
> 
> 
> There’s no blood on the gauze, but there’s actually some dead skin, brown and hardened. Kagetora can see this as the strips fall to the floor.  
> 
> 
> “I want to see,” he murmurs.  
> 
> 
> “No,” Naoe insists.  
> 
> 
> “Haruie, hold him.”  
> 
> 
> “No,” Naoe pleads.   
> 
> 
> “Don’t you want to see it yourself? You can, through my eyes.” Kagetora hands Naoe over to Haruie and stands. He walks a few steps around Naoe and goes completely still.  
> 
> 
> The older man’s back looks like it has exactly one layer of dermis covering his muscles, but it’s . . . glowing, almost. Pale like a pearl. It’s . . . radiant. Sure, there are scars, from that time when Naoe threw himself in front of shards of window glass to protect Kagetora from restless guardian spirits at school. But the skin itself looks . . .  
> 
> 
> “New,” Kagetora whispers.  
> 
> 
> Naoe is breathing erratically. His eyes are screwed tightly shut, but Kagetora can feel him searching inside, trying to see what Kagetora sees.   
> 
> 
> “What is it, Kagetora-sama?” Haruie asks.   
> 
> 
> Kagetora clears his throat. “I think his skin is regenerating itself.”  
> 
> 
> “What?” Haruie almost drops Naoe and Kagetora reaches out to steady him. It’s not exactly comfortable for Naoe to sit at a ninety-degree angle for so long.   
> 
> 
> “Come see.” He threads his fingers through Naoe’s hair, cupping the back of his head, and lets the older man lean back into that support while Haruie bends over to see Naoe’s back.  
> 
> 
> “Impossible . . .”  
> 
> 
> “It . . . must be . . . your . . . energy.” Naoe’s struggling, but the drugs are kicking in. “I’m sucking healing chi off you like a goddamn leech.”  
> 
> 
> ~ _Knock it off. It’s not like I’m protesting. It’s what you need._ ~ “Haruie. Bandage him back up, that skin’s too fragile right now to be exposed.”  
> 
> 
> “Yes, my lord.”  
> 
> 
> He’s supposed to be watching so he can learn, but it doesn’t look that hard. Just around and around, under the arms, over the abdomen, again and again until the older man is wrapped up like a mummy.   
> 
> 
> // _Kage . . . tora . . . sama . . ._ //  
> 
> 
> “Hurry up, Haruie.”  
> 
> 
> “I am.”  
> 
> 
> ~ _Does it hurt?_ ~  
> 
> 
> // _You’re touching me. Feels good._ //  
> 
> 
> ~ _That’s the drugs, asshole._ ~  
> 
> 
> // _. . . You . . ._ //  
> 
> 
> “Okay, I’m done,” Haruie says. “You can put him down now.”  
> 
> 
> “Right.”  
> 
> 
> Naoe is heavy. No wispy, lithe damsel in distress is he. Oh no. He’s solid and heavy and very, very masculine. And he is starting to _smell_.  
> 
> 
> // _How kind._ //  
> 
> 
> ~ _It’s true._ ~ “Let’s let him sleep. Touching him seems to help. When he wakes up, we’ll give him a quick sponge bath right here.”  
> 
> 
> Naoe touches his face. “Need a shave. Can’t . . . hurts . . . kiss smooth . . .”  
> 
> 
> “Those must be really good drugs.” Haruie chuckles. “He’s had a lot of painkillers these past few days. I worry about it storing up in his system.”  
> 
> 
> “Getting him up to the bathroom is going to be a bitch,” Kagetora murmurs. Then again, it couldn’t be helped.   
> 
> 
> “I like your chin,” Naoe mumbles, squinting up at him from the futon.   
> 
> 
> “That’s nice,” Kagetora says, humoring him. He knows Naoe means he likes Kagetora’s smooth face, wants to kiss it, but he’s not up to dealing with that thought and Naoe’s not in any shape to even contemplate why saying that is a bad thing.  
> 
> 
> “Wow,” Haruie exclaims. “How much did you give him?”  
> 
> 
> “Two pills.”  
> 
> 
> “ _Two_?”  
> 
> 
> “Yeah.”  
> 
> 
> Haruie smacks her forehead. “Well, one good thing. Painkillers make you constipated, so, no dragging him to the toilet anytime soon.”  
> 
> 
> Kagetora sighs. “This is just one big mess.”  
> 
> 
> “Maybe if you settled down beside him,” Haruie suggests, “touched him, he’d heal faster. We need him better soon. Nobunaga isn’t going to wait all that long.”  
> 
> 
> Nodding at the wisdom in her words, Kagetora spreads out beside Naoe and holds his hand. “Son of a bitch,” he says with a hint of affection. “You smell.”  
> 
> 
> *
> 
>   
> 
> 
> They sleep for several hours, Kagetora coming in and out. Naoe doesn’t have any dreams; his mind is a pleasant, empty hum. But _he_ is tired. Touching Naoe all night, now all morning, it was draining him. Not too badly; he couldn’t feel it while it was happening, but when he let go, there was a headache and a coldness in its wake.   
> 
> 
> He feels . . . empty at those times.  
> 
> 
> Well, it looks like Naoe is gonna be down for the count, so he might as well spare them both a lot of awkwardness and give him that sponge bath now. He goes to the hall bathroom, the cheerful wallpaper and yellow tiles somehow reassuring—~ _home, home, they’re all home and safe under one roof_ ~—and he wets a washcloth.   
> 
> 
> They don’t own a basin; Takaya is, considering everything, poor, living on his own and supporting his sister, but he scrounges around and finds a big enough bowl—the one that they sometimes use for when the ceiling leaks.  
> 
> 
> He rubs a bar of green soap, _~it smells good_ ~, back and forth over the cloth, working up a lather. These little rituals are extremely comforting. ~ _Wet the cloth. Turn the tap. Fill the bowl. Don’t think about how good Naoe felt, clinging to you like that. Carefully take the bowl back into the bedroom._ ~  
> 
> 
> Naoe’s chest rises and falls rapidly; he’s really getting in some good sleep. Kagetora smiles. He’s never seen his protector this vulnerable before. Well, never _like this_ before. So . . . dependant. It’s usually the other way around.   
> 
> 
> When he crouches down, his knees pop. Everything aches from holding himself so rigidly these days. Kagetora pushes the cloth into the warm water, sliding in up to his wrists, it feels good—it feels _exactly_ like when he’s touching Naoe, in fact—and then he wrings it out and starts on the man’s face.  
> 
> 
> There’s actually quite a bit of dirt and grime. Kagetora’s slow about it; he doesn’t want Naoe to wake up and he hopes the drugs and his touch are enough to keep Naoe under. It’s the first truly private moment he’s had in three days. The first time he’s been able to really assess Naoe, look at him without the mask of false serenity usually in place.  
> 
> 
> ~ _He’s beautiful._ ~  
> 
> 
> Kagetora’s hands freeze.   
> 
> 
> ~ _Shit . . . Bury it. Just bury it._ ~  
> 
> 
> Naoe moans, a little frown forming. Quickly, Kagetora resumes the gentle bath, stroking the cloth carefully around Naoe’s abdomen and . . . other areas . . . working his way down the legs and even the feet. ~ _Like preparing a body._ ~  
> 
> 
> Not wanting to expose the older man to a chill, he goes to his chest of drawers and finds a big enough pair of pajama bottoms to fit, then eases Naoe’s limp form into them. He doesn’t bother with removing the underwear and he just throws the scrubs in the trash.   
> 
> 
> The bowl is cloudy and cold now, so he tosses out the water and leaves the rest of the stuff in the sink. He’ll wash it out later, when he’s not so sleepy.  
> 
> 
> Kagetora looms for a long time, just watching Naoe. He looks more human now, and smells like soap. The stubble . . . is actually kind of sexy. But he’s decidedly not thinking about that. Naoe looks . . . inviting.  
> 
> 
> Not really sure why, Kagetora pads over and curls up under the blankets with Naoe. He doesn’t want to hurt the man, but . . . but the proximity is so addictive, dragging him under, like sinking into sun-warmed water, and he sighs a little, burrowing closer.  
> 
> 
> ~ _Naoe . . ._ ~  
> 
> 
> *
> 
>   
> 
> 
> “Oniichan.” Miya says again, “Oniichan.”  
> 
> 
> Kagetora’s vision is blurry when she wakes him up. His own alarm clock shows he’s only been out for a little under two hours. “What? He doesn’t need another pill yet.”  
> 
> 
> “It’s lunch time. And Yuzuru’s here with Chiaki.”  
> 
> 
> He all but bolts out of bed. Naoe’s . . . looking a little better. He tucks the blankets back up around the sleeping man. Then he scratches his nose; his sister’s looking at him with a funny expression and he feels weird and he’s not sure what to do about that so he just goes downstairs. ~ _She saw me lying with him. Bury it._ ~  
> 
> 
> Yuzuru is already seated at the table; Chiaki casually leans against the table’s edge, pouring the boy a cup of tea. The pose just screams of intimacy. And neither are really aware of it, either, Kagetora sees.  
> 
> 
> It’s strange, because Chiaki used to be very skeptical about Yuzuru. He basically regarded the boy as a threat and, if not for Kagetora’s merciless wrath, he probably would have just killed him. But over time, inevitably, Chiaki saw _Yuzuru_ , saw the wonderful, gentle, bright boy underneath.   
> 
> 
> So Nagahide decided, it seemed, to become the boy’s watchdog. If Yuzuru came on missions, and his power _was_ extremely useful in placating vengeful spirits, Chiaki stuck by his side, making sure everything—especially Yuzuru—was under control.   
> 
> 
> ~ _Rather a lot like Naoe with me._ ~  
> 
> 
> Except Yuzuru took this as a sign of deepening friendship and apparently Chiaki was content not to burst that bubble.   
> 
> 
> “Kagetora. Tea?”  
> 
> 
> He blinks. “What did you find?”  
> 
> 
> Chiaki and Yuzuru both look at him. “Takaya, you’ll probably want to sit down and have some tea . . .” Yuzuru seems . . . worried.  
> 
> 
> “Great.” He sits. He takes a sip of Chiaki’s tea. Then he says, “So, what did you find?”  
> 
> 
> “There’s virtually nothing on record about the origins of our magic,” Chiaki begins, sounding rather like a teacher giving a lecture. “And practically hundreds of books on Shinto spells, Buddhism, and ESP. Can you say ‘needle in a haystack?’ ”  
> 
> 
> “Tomorrow, we’ll go to the temple and ask a priest,” Yuzuru hastens to reassure Kagetora. “Perhaps they’ll have some idea of how to . . . reverse this.”  
> 
> 
> “ _Naoe_ is a monk, and he’s had the Possessor gig for hundreds of years. What makes you think some priest who’s not even Yashashu will know what Oda was up to?” Kagetora wrinkles his nose in disgust. “This is the best you could do?”  
> 
> 
> Chiaki’s eyes are cutting and clear. “We were able to find out some more about your bond. At least, I think we’re on the right track. Nobunaga has two powers that set him apart from us. Nothing we can throw at him thus far is strong enough to kill him. And he has the power to destroy souls.”  
> 
> 
> Pinching the bridge of his nose, Kagetora sighs. “I don’t really understand what that means. You _can’t_ destroy something eternal. The soul is immortal . . . isn’t it?”  
> 
> 
> “From what Chiaki-kun says,” Yuzuru answered, “the soul is a form of energy like any other. It can be transformed, but in terms of being created or destroyed . . .”  
> 
> 
> “He . . .” Chiaki pauses trying to find the right way to explain it. “It’s not like he so much as _breaks_ or _erases_ a spirit . . . as he just . . . _reverses_ it. Kinda like negative or anti-matter. He flips it on its back; makes a hole.”  
> 
> 
> “So, where a person’s soul used to be . . .” Kagetora starts.  
> 
> 
> “There’s just emptiness.” Yuzuru looks down into his tea. “That’s what he was trying to do to you that night in the park, we think.”  
> 
> 
> ~ _My head hurts._ ~ “Well, then why didn’t it ‘reverse’ Naoe’s soul?”  
> 
> 
> Chiaki takes a deep breath. “Because he was holding onto you.”  
> 
> 
> “Say what?” Kagetora folds his arms.   
> 
> 
> “He _did_ hit Naoe. If Naoe was standing all alone, he’d probably be gone forever. Everything that once was Naoe Nobutsuna would have just . . . been blotted out of existence.” Chiaki clears his throat. “Your spirit, however, rejected that.”  
> 
> 
> “Uh . . . huh . . .” Kagetora looks back and forth between Yuzuru and the obviously _insane_ man in front of him.   
> 
> 
> “Something inside you prevented the void,” Yuzuru says firmly. “At least, that’s what we _think_ happened.”  
> 
> 
> “How?”  
> 
> 
> Chiaki smiles thinly. “You took him into yourself.”  
> 
> 
> “ _I_ did?” Kagetora points to his own chest.  
> 
> 
> “Yes. Judging from what you told us,” Chiaki explains, “you felt Naoe’s pain almost the moment he got hit. He was holding you as it happened. There would have been the void, but instead, a part of you sheltered Naoe away. In your . . . soul. In your body. I don’t know. You bonded with him, and whether Nobunaga’s attack _made_ that happen, or whether it was your will or the will of the Seed in you or something else, Naoe and you were linked and Nobunaga’s soul-rending magic didn’t work.”  
> 
> 
> “Let me see if I get this straight.” Kagetora pushes his tea away and splays his sweating palms on the table. “Naoe was, for lack of a better term, about to completely ‘extinguish’ spiritually and physically, but he was holding me, so he didn’t, and now we’re psychically linked?”  
> 
> 
> “Yeah, basically.” Chiaki shrugged.  
> 
> 
> Yuzuru coughed. “I think what it means is that your souls mated. They . . . became one. In a way. Whether that happened because of the spell, or you, or even before any of this went down, we can’t be sure. From what I understand . . .” he glances at Chiaki, “you two have been tethered together for multiple incarnations already. But we _are_ pretty sure that’s what this bond is. He’s so closely tied to you that Nobunaga’s incantation wasn’t strong enough to wipe him out.”  
> 
> 
> “It also explains why _your_ spiritual energy is healing _his_ body.” Chiaki nodded to himself.   
> 
> 
> “So you’re saying we’re stuck this way?”   
> 
> 
> Yuzuru put up his hands. “Wait, wait, wait! We just started checking into this. If there is a way to mate souls, there must be a way to, er, _unmate_ them.”  
> 
> 
> He doesn’t want to say this, but now he has no choice. “It’s getting stronger.”  
> 
> 
> “The bond?” Chiaki asks, leaning forward.  
> 
> 
> Kagetora nods. “Deeper. I can sense him. I can see through his eyes, sometimes, as if we were sharing one body, one experience. When we touch . . .”  
> 
> 
> Yuzuru’s also on the edge of his seat.  
> 
> 
> ~ _This is so embarrassing._ ~ “It feels wrong . . . not to touch him. I want to touch him all the time,” he whispers.  
> 
> 
> “And if you don’t, you feel . . .?” Chiaki presses.  
> 
> 
> “Empty.”  
> 
> 
> “Like you’re out of your own body and just a shell, empty? Or like you’re lonely and missing something, empty?” Yuzuru asks gently.  
> 
> 
> He blinks. “Both.”  
> 
> 
> “And it’s getting stronger,” Chiaki murmurs. “Could be just while Naoe heals. Maybe the compulsion to touch is just while he’s mending.”  
> 
> 
> “Speaking of,” Kagetora says, “did Haruie tell you about his back?”  
> 
> 
> The other fellows shake their heads. “She hasn’t said anything.”  
> 
> 
> “Well.” Kagetora struggles to find the right words. “On Thursday night, he almost didn’t have any flesh on his back. Just raw muscle.”  
> 
> 
> Yuzuru shudders.  
> 
> 
> “It’s Sunday, and he’s got a translucent layer of skin. It’s healing, too. No blood. No new scars. No burns. Like . . . brand new skin. No, like, the old skin is magically reappearing.”  
> 
> 
> “Amazing,” Chiaki breathes.   
> 
> 
> “Kinda gross, though,” Yuzuru mutters. “Sorry,” he says to Kagetora.  
> 
> 
> Kagetora shrugs. “I’m a little freaked out by how _not_ freaked out I am about this. It’s like . . . like I know he’s going to get better in a few days. _Days_. I _know_ it. There’s like a timer in my head, I can feel it ticking down. Naoe’s getting stronger.”  
> 
> 
> “And you? Are you getting weaker?” Chiaki asks.  
> 
> 
> “No,” he says immediately. “Tired, yes. I need more sleep than usual. Naoe seems to be ravishing in the food department. It doesn’t hurt.” ~ _Just aches to be away from him._ ~   
> 
> 
> “I see.”  
> 
> 
> “Oniichan,” Miya says from the doorway. It’s clear she’s been standing there for a long time, and Haruie’s behind her, not looking the least apologetic about eavesdropping. “Are you in danger, Takaya?”  
> 
> 
> He gets up and pulls her into a fierce hug, “No,” he whispers. “Things are going to work out fine, you’ll see.” Kagetora says this, looking over Miya’s head, into Haruie’s eyes, _willing_ it to be so. “I’m going to need everyone’s help, however. Over the next couple of days.”  
> 
> 
> “Of course,” Haruie hastens.  
> 
> 
> “Yuzuru, keep researching how to sever bonds like this. Talk to a priest, if you have to. Chiaki, you’re on defense—I’d like to know what Nobunaga is up to, but mostly, just work on keeping this house safe. Put up a constant ward or barrier if you can. Haruie, you’re in charge of Naoe’s recovery. And Miya,” he says warmly, “you can keep us all fed and the house together, right? It won’t interfere with school work?”  
> 
> 
> “Of course I can, Taka-chan.” She smiles at him and he feels a strange tug at his heart. She’s so innocent, so trusting and warm. Like his son was. His _son_. What a strange sort of agony, to mourn a child four hundred years dead. A precious treasure he failed to protect because of his own naïveté. He won’t make the same mistake with Miya.   
> 
> 
> “Miya, stick close to Chiaki and Haruie for me, okay? Don’t . . . don’t wander around too much outside for a few days. I’m afraid just being close to me makes you a target.” ~ _And a liability for me._ ~  
> 
> 
> “Understood! Now, how about some lunch?!”  
> 
> 
> “Sounds good.” He smiles, but the expression fades. “Naoe’s awake.” Without another word, he spins on his heel and heads upstairs.  
> 
> 
> The bedroom is quiet. Naoe lies on his side, staring off into space. Kagetora can’t quite place the vibes coming off of him.   
> 
> 
> “How are you feeling?”  
> 
> 
> “Cold,” Naoe responds immediately. “Hungry. I’d like to go to the bathroom.”  
> 
> 
> ~ _How blunt of you._ ~  
> 
> 
> // _What’s the point of hiding anything anymore?_ //  
> 
> 
> ~ _You finally see the light._ ~ “Let’s get you up, then. The bathroom’s not too far.” He reaches out, Naoe meets him halfway, and when their hands meet, it’s like a rush of warm water pouring over them. Kagetora pulls Naoe up close and the older man sort of falls against him. He puffs up his chest, supporting Naoe, stopping himself from gripping the sliver-skinned back just in time.   
> 
> 
> “Kagetora-sama . . .”  
> 
> 
> Kagetora doesn’t say anything as he helps Naoe to the bathroom. He opens the door and lets Naoe lean against the wall as he lifts the toilet lid and puts the toilet paper within easy reach. “Are you good by yourself?”  
> 
> 
> “These aren’t my pants,” Naoe says stupidly, looking down at himself.  
> 
> 
> “They’re mine. You earned yourself a bath.” Kagetora grins.   
> 
> 
> Naoe . . . blushes a bit.   
> 
> 
> ~ _How cute._ ~  
> 
> 
> // _Kagetora-sama!_ //  
> 
> 
> “Right, I’ll just be right outside.”  
> 
> 
> Naoe nods and doesn’t make a move until Kagetora shuts the door. He can hear rustling around in there, baby steps, the crinkle of fabric as Naoe pulls the pajama’s string.   
> 
> 
> He _tries_ really hard not to look through Naoe’s eyes when the man begins to urinate, and instead starts singing a pop song he’s heard a million times on the radio, while walking up and down the hallway.   
> 
> 
> There’s not much hanging on the walls. Their mother had glass cases full of China dolls. Their father never bothered changing any decorations. Takaya can’t afford much, but he frames anything Miya draws—she’s quite good, actually—with little wooden makeshift frames he gets at the cheapie stores.   
> 
> 
> The hallway has her picture of the sea at sunset. It always makes him happy.   
> 
> 
> It isn’t until he got his memories back that he realizes why.  
> 
> 
> ***
> 
>   
> 
> 
> _He is eighteen years old. In his prime. The sun loses its sharp edge, and the beach rapidly sheds its heat, like the bricks of an oven after the fire’s doused. Wave after wave rolls lazily along as tide comes in.  
> _
> 
> He’s lying on his back, staring up at an orange sky, content. His head rests on Naoe’s stomach; their bodies form a T shape in the sand.   
> 
> 
> He’d been training all day in the water and now they were resting.   
> 
> 
> Kagetora sighs.   
> 
> 
> “Are you tired, my lord?”  
> 
> 
> “Mm.”  
> 
> 
> “Shall we return?”  
> 
> 
> A lengthy pause. Kagetora curls into Naoe’s side. “Not yet.”  
> 
> 
> ***
> 
>   
> 
> 
> The toilet flushes. Kagetora blinks. Naoe’s washing his hands in the sink, feeling a little dizzy. He can see Naoe’s face in the mirror, watches as Naoe grips the knobs of the tap. Without permission, Kagetora enters the bathroom and brushes the back of his knuckles across Naoe’s hand.   
> 
> 
> // _That was a good day._ //  
> 
> 
> ~ _One of our best._ ~  
> 
> 
> “I’d like to shave, Kagetora-sama.”  
> 
> 
> He considers. “Sit on the john. I’ll do it for you.”  
> 
> 
> // _I don’t trust my shaking hands with a razor to my throat, either. Thank you._ //  
> 
> 
> “No big.” He gets the shaving cream and kit ready while Naoe gingerly lowers himself to the toilet. It’s not long before he’s worked up a lather and, not having a fancy barber’s brush or anything, uses his hands to coat Naoe’s cheeks, chin, and neck.   
> 
> 
> He can feel Naoe’s contentment at his touch. Embarrassingly, it echoes his own. Kagetora takes him time, using long, slow strokes with the razor, washing it under the tap many times, until Naoe’s skin is smooth. Then he towels the man off.  
> 
> 
> Naoe’s breathing patterned has changed. It’s . . . a little harsher. His eyes are darker, the pupils dilated. His thoughts aren’t really _thoughts_ so much as a tangled web of desire.  
> 
> 
> Kagetora can’t tell if he returns those feelings, or just reflects them, but before he can stop himself, he’s ghosting the back of his hand over Naoe’s jaw line, then leaning in, kissing the corner of that eager mouth.  
> 
> 
> The older man groans for a second and turns his head—it’s a full-on kiss; distantly, Kagetora’s surprised to find himself sucking hungrily on Naoe, letting the older man delve into his mouth.   
> 
> 
> Strong hands grip his elbows, pull his body closer, and soon Naoe’s _eating_ at his mouth, and Kagetora can taste the shaving cream and the salt of Naoe’s skin and it’s so damned _good_ but . . .  
> 
> 
> Roughly, he pulls away. “No.” ~ _Absolutely not. Ever._ ~  
> 
> 
> Naoe’s dazed. His mind’s still catching up with what their bodies were doing. “Kage . . .” he hiccups a breath, “Kagetora-sama.”  
> 
> 
> ~ _It’s just this bond thing. Yuzuru and Chiaki explained it to me. Stuff like that’s going to be a compulsion we have to watch out for._ ~  
> 
> 
> // _Why?_ //  
> 
> 
> “It’s an effect of the bond.”  
> 
> 
> // _Why do we have to resist it?_ // Naoe wants to know. // _It feels good. You want me too, I can tell—_ //  
> 
> 
> ~ _I will NEVER want you._ ~ “Never willingly.” Kagetora is cold and angry; Naoe’s on his way to getting bitter and hurt. The entire thing is ridiculous. He turns sharply away. “I’ll send Haruie up to help you to bed and feed you.”  
> 
> 
> // _Feed me? Like a dog?_ //  
> 
> 
> A cruel smile twists his lips. “Exactly,” he throws over his shoulder on his way out.   
> 
> 
> *
> 
>   
> 
> 
> Kagetora does everything he can think of to ignore Naoe for the rest of the day. He watches a DVD with Miya and plays a video game with Yuzuru. Unpredictably, Yuzuru holds his own, killing Kagetora’s fighters at least half of the time. Chiaki hangs out nearby, pretending to read a book when it’s obvious to Kagetora that he’s watching Yuzuru from the corner of his eyes.   
> 
> 
> Round about dinnertime, Haruie attempts to update him on Naoe’s condition and he just holds up a hand and says, “I know. Better than you do.”  
> 
> 
> She doesn’t bring up Naoe again.   
> 
> 
> The simple meal is a quiet affair. The house is starting to feel a bit small with all of these people. Kagetora wants space; craves distance. Yuzuru has always been able to detect this, so he suggests to Chiaki that the older man spend the night at his house, since nothing earth-shattering had happened so far.  
> 
> 
> Unsurprisingly, Chiaki accepts.   
> 
> 
> After Haruie takes Naoe his meal, she and Miya start working on a sewing project his sister has due for Home Ec tomorrow—~ _always leaving things to the last minute_ ~—but Haruie seems happy to have something to do.   
> 
> 
> That leaves Kagetora alone. He lies down on the couch, not really doing anything but staring at the ceiling—right where Naoe would be—and tries to clear his mind. Naoe wants a cigarette, and therefore _he_ wants a cigarette, despite the fact that he’s never really smoked. Thankfully, the older man’s got another dose of painkillers and it’s mellowing him out. It’s not long before he’s asleep.  
> 
> 
> ***
> 
>   
> 
> 
> _He’s stuck at the bottom of a well. It’s a long, narrow tunnel up to a navy-black sky. He can barely see the moon, a sliver of yellow light. It’s cold and he’s trapped.  
> _
> 
> Suddenly he’s jerked up out of the water, shooting straight up and out into the wide-open sky. When he falls back to earth, he’s in modern-day Japan. He looks down into the well, and Yuzuru’s reflection ripples back at him.  
> 
> 
> He jerks in surprise. “Yuzuru?”  
> 
> 
> “You have to unleash it. You can’t let go. You have to give up, or you’ll die. Worse than die, you’ll fade away.”  
> 
> 
> Horrified, Kagetora watches as the moon’s reflection shines on Yuzuru’s forehead, glowing a brilliant yellow, and then he morphs into Nobunaga, only the man has aged into a flesh-covered skeleton. Bony, withered hands reach up the length of the well and wrap around his throat, choking him.  
> 
> 
> He can’t breathe; can’t breathe.   
> 
> 
> “Kagetora-sama!”  
> 
> 
> ***
> 
>   
> 
> 
> “Kagetora-sama!”  
> 
> 
> Kagetora startles up from the couch, his hands at his throat. He gasps for air, then swivels around to see Naoe leaning heavily on the stair’s banister. “Naoe?!”  
> 
> 
> “Kagetora-sama!”   
> 
> 
> He can see Naoe’s about to fall flat on his face, so he goes over and puts his shoulder under the man’s arm. ~ _What the hell are you doing up?_ ~  
> 
> 
> // _You were screaming in your sleep. I didn’t know you were asleep. I was asleep and you were in pain so I came!_ // Naoe barks this into his mind.  
> 
> 
> “What’s going on?” Haruie asks, running into the room with Miya not far behind.  
> 
> 
> “Nightmare,” Kagetora explains, putting his other hand on Naoe’s hip because he can’t very well touch the man’s back. “Naoe panicked.”  
> 
> 
> He could sense Naoe’s burning anger at that description of events, but to his credit, the man said nothing.   
> 
> 
> “Well, not panicked;” he says, wondering why he’s back-peddling over _Naoe’s_ hurt feelings, “it’s just, he was sleeping too and couldn’t tell the dream from reality.”  
> 
> 
> “What was the nightmare?” Miya wants to know.  
> 
> 
> “Nothing. No big deal. Let’s get this guy back upstairs,” Kagetora suggests.  
> 
> 
> “It felt like a prophecy to me.”  
> 
> 
> ~ _Just shut the hell up, Naoe. Do NOT alarm my sister or I swear I will flay your back open again!_ ~  
> 
> 
> Naoe clears his throat. “But that might be because I’m on medication.” He smiles. “How about we get me back to bed, hm?”  
> 
> 
> “Great idea!” Kagetora chimes in, already pulling Naoe up the stairs.   
> 
> 
> // _I’m sorry. I’m a little out of it._ //  
> 
> 
> ~ _I know. That makes it harder to hold a grudge against you._ ~  
> 
> 
> // _You’ve had so many years practice, Kagetora-sama. Surely you won’t go and lose the knack._ //  
> 
> 
> Kagetora glares, dropping Naoe unceremoniously onto the futon.  
> 
> 
> “Oough!”   
> 
> 
> They both wince, and Kagetora could kick himself, because when Naoe hurts, he hurts. “Okay. I’m not the brightest crayon in the box, myself, at the moment.”  
> 
> 
> “Come to bed,” Naoe invites wearily.  
> 
> 
> “Missing your battery-source?”  
> 
> 
> Naoe blinks. “Yes, as a matter of fact. I didn’t really heal that much today while you were,” // _downstairs moping_ // “away.”  
> 
> 
> “I don’t mope. I’m not a moper.”  
> 
> 
> // _The ever-loving FUCK you’re not._ // “Of course not, my lord. My mistake.”  
> 
> 
> “Son of a bitch,” Kagetora grumbles, peeling off his jeans and scrubbing his hands over his face. He gets under the covers and growls at Naoe, “I really can’t stand you.”  
> 
> 
> “I know.”  
> 
> 
> Naoe shifts slightly and Kagetora automatically lifts his head so that Naoe’s arm can slip under; it’s obvious Naoe can’t rest on his back and for whatever reason he’s not interested in sleeping on his stomach.   
> 
> 
> “You’re a complete bastard.” Kagetora smoothes Naoe’s bangs back.  
> 
> 
> “Very true.”  
> 
> 
> Kagetora sidles closer until the top of his head rests under Naoe’s chin and they both sigh at the contact.  
> 
> 
> ~ _Half-crazy, obsessed, mad-dog that doesn’t have enough common sense to keep his own ass out of the fire._ ~  
> 
> 
> // _Yes. But I’m YOUR half-crazy, obsessed, mad-dog._ //  
> 
> 
> “Don’t you forget it.” Kagetora’s halfway back to sleep, the nightmare from earlier all but forgotten.   
> 
> 
> “As if I could.”  
> 
> 
> *
> 
>   
> 
> 
> When he wakes the next morning, his groin is _throbbing_ maddeningly. Naoe’s licking his chest, kissing and nuzzling him, half out-of-it. The older man latches onto a nipple and _tortures_ it with his teeth and tongue, and as Kagetora’s raking his fingers into Naoe’s hair, the thought occurs to him that he could come from just this . . .   
> 
> 
> He yanks Naoe’s head back, staring into the vacant expression, and screams in his mind, ~ _What the fuck are you doing?!_ ~  
> 


	4. Chapter 4

>   
> Chapter 4  
> 
> 
>   
> 
> 
> Naoe’s warm and wet and sliding around the lower levels of consciousness like an eel. It feels _good_. He’s in the guff between sleeping and awake, and the one he loves is wrapped around him, though he can’t remember their name, or what names are, but he’s hungry, and his mouth tastes and tastes some more, unable to get a fill, salty skin like the sea, triggering sense-memories.   
> 
> 
> The _pulses_ of energy flowing into him cascade down his back; he feels as if each of his vertebrae are being warmed, one by one. He keeps feeding until it crackles down to his fingernails, until he can remember having his own body, and his body feels young and strong and invincible.  
> 
> 
> He nuzzles his lover; kisses, by way of thanks. He’s _reverent_. Latches on and sucks and _sucks_ and it’s so good, his lover could come just from this . . .  
> 
> 
> ~ _What the fuck do you think you’re doing?!_ ~  
> 
> 
> Naoe blinks his eyes open slowly; his eyelids droop. Shaking his head, he realizes it’s Kagetora speaking. Or rather, _thinking_ to him.   
> 
> 
> Taking quick stock of the situation, he notices a few odd things. One, he’s managed to sliver down half the futon. Two, his hands are wrapped around Kagetora; his left, clutching Kagetora’s shoulder blade, his right, squeezing Kagetora’s ass.   
> 
> 
> Kagetora’s _chest_ is _wet_ with what Naoe can only assume is saliva.  
> 
> 
> Both of them have raging hard ons.   
> 
> 
> And his master is tugging fistfuls of his hair, glaring daggers at him.  
> 
> 
> “Naoe!”  
> 
> 
> “I . . . I don’t really know,” he answers quietly. // _I don’t remember doing this. Consciously._ //  
> 
> 
> “Well _stop_.”  
> 
> 
> // _No. Please._ // The thought is out before he can rescind it, and Kagetora’s glare goes from mad to murderous.   
> 
> 
> “If you don’t let go, I will never, ever forgive you. I will hate you for the rest of time,” Kagetora hisses.  
> 
> 
> Naoe huffs out a huge sigh, dropping his forehead to Kagetora’s pectoral. // _How would that be any different from now?_ //  
> 
> 
> The hands in his hair tighten.  
> 
> 
> “I’ve already sinned beyond forgiveness, haven’t I?” he says, muffled, into the hollow between Kagetora’s neck and chin. His tongue sneaks out, licks a straight line up to Kagetora’s earlobe.   
> 
> 
> The younger man shivers. ~ _Stop it._ ~  
> 
> 
> // _I can feel that you like it, you know._ //  
> 
> 
> “My body wants it. I do not. If you can feel me, then you know it’s true.”  
> 
> 
> Naoe peers up at Kagetora, at those glassy eyes with dark circles underneath, and he _searches_ around in Kagetora’s mind, but . . . // _I feel no such thing. Nothing._ // “It’s your fault. It’s your own fault . . .”  
> 
> 
> He pulls Kagetora close, covers him, and sucks on the cord of the younger man’s throat, his body pressing down on Kagetora. The throb in Kagetora’s pelvis matches his own. Unable to stop himself, he gently grinds down, thrusting back and forth,  
> 
> 
> Kagetora’s hands haven’t left his hair; they yank, twist, and pull, but all the same, the younger man is moving with him, lifting slightly, panting. ~ _No,_ ~ Kagetora groans.   
> 
> 
> // _Let me, let me, I beg you . . ._ //  
> 
> 
> ~ _Dammit, Naoe, stop! I don’t . . . I can’t . . . Not worthy . . ._ ~  
> 
> 
> Naoe moves back a little, his eyes going wide. “Not worthy? I’m not _worthy_ of the great Saburo Kagetora-sama, is that it?” His hands strike out, holding Kagetora roughly down. “No matter what I do, it’s never good enough, is it?” // _Maybe that’s the point._ // “Well, if I’m such a disappointment, then this won’t come as any surprise.”  
> 
> 
> “Na—”  
> 
> 
> He cuts Kagetora off, kissing him. It’s harsh. His teeth scrape the younger man’s lips open and he can taste a drop or two of blood. Kagetora’s struggling now, but he never was a match for Naoe’s strength. Naoe’s done with trying to coax the boy to respond, he simply _fucks_ into that hot, arrogant mouth with his tongue and grinds his hips in slow, wide circles.   
> 
> 
> ~ _Please, please stop, stop!_ ~  
> 
> 
> // _You WANT this. You’ve been herding me toward this for lifetimes! Maybe you can’t admit you enjoy it, but your cock doesn’t lie._ // Naoe’s hand slips between them, strokes Kagetora’s length, up and down, up and down, and he can feel the echo of pleasure along their bond, when suddenly—  
> 
> 
> Kagetora _rakes_ his nails down Naoe’s back.  
> 
> 
> The scream dies in his throat.   
> 
> 
> He freezes, unable to even twitch. Kagetora freezes too.  
> 
> 
> It hurts, but he expects it to be agonizing. It isn’t. Yes, it hurts, a lot, but . . .  
> 
> 
> “Your back,” Kagetora breathes.  
> 
> 
> Naoe shifts his weight onto his elbows and closes his eyes, willing himself under control. “It . . .”  
> 
> 
> “Doesn’t hurt like it should,” Kagetora finishes.  
> 
> 
> He nods. // _I don’t understand._ //  
> 
> 
> Their fight temporarily forgotten, Kagetora surges up and starts ripping the bandages off. The brads pop and bounce across the floor. Kagetora’s unraveling him, an adorable frown on his face as he impatiently pulls the gauze away.  
> 
> 
> “Move, I can’t see,” he whispers.  
> 
> 
> Naoe gingerly extricates himself from the futon and turns around.  
> 
> 
> Kagetora gasps. He can see it in Kagetora’s mind.   
> 
> 
> His back is almost _completely_ healed.   
> 
> 
> ~ _It’s miraculous._ ~  
> 
> 
> Naoe hangs his head. // _It’s probably you. I was . . . holding you all night. Who knows how long I was . . . molesting you. I think that’s what it wants. It wants me to rut with you. In fact, I’m beginning to think that’s what’s healing me. Your touch. Your body. Your mind._ // He sighs, so close to despair. // _I’m sucking off you like a leech, quite literally. My body must crave your chi. And . . . and I couldn’t tell the difference between that and . . ._ //  
> 
> 
> ~ _And?_ ~  
> 
> 
> Looking straight at Kagetora, he swallows. // _And my constant longing for you._ //  
> 
> 
> Shocked, Kagetora lifts a shaking hand to massage between his eyes. “I can’t . . . take this much longer. I can’t do this. I just . . . Don’t do this to me, Naoe.”  
> 
> 
> Naoe grins bitterly. “How am I supposed to stop it?” // _You forbade me to kill myself._ //  
> 
> 
> Kagetora winces. “You know, I tried that once. Several times, actually. In our case, it never works.”   
> 
> 
> Naoe frowns. Kagetora is . . . crying. Almost. Tears cling to his lashes.   
> 
> 
> “It’s just . . . running away. And there _is_ no ‘away,’ for us.” ~ _There is no escape from this destiny._ ~  
> 
> 
> “Kagetora-sama.” He bows low. // _I regret upsetting you. I never regret taking you in my arms, but I regret the WAY I did it tonight. I can offer you no excuse._ //  
> 
> 
> Kagetora snickers. “No, you can’t. But we’re way beyond that, aren’t we?” ~ _I get that the link made you . . . do that stuff in your sleep. But you chose to keep going. That’s why I hate you so much, Naoe. You’re like a dog after a bone._ ~ “You are such a glut.”  
> 
> 
> The younger man walks out of the room with his back so straight and his head so high, Naoe is reminded of the Emperors of the Feudal Era.   
> 
> 
> *
> 
>   
> 
> 
> Haruie bounces into the room a few moments later. “Naoe, it’s time for one of you pi—” She breaks off, taking in the state of the futon and the discarded bandages. “What happened?”  
> 
> 
> Naoe shakes his head, going over to the window and resting his forehead against the cool glass.   
> 
> 
> “Your back!” Haruie exclaims, crossing over to run her fingertips along it.  
> 
> 
> He shivers. “Something about touching Kagetora heals it. I can’t figure out if it’s the contact or . . .”  
> 
> 
> “What else could it be?”  
> 
> 
> “The intimacy.”   
> 
> 
> Several beats of awkward silence. “Naoe . . .”  
> 
> 
> “I want it to be over, Haruie. It hurts to be so close to him and not have him. It fucking hurts.”  
> 
> 
> Sighing, Haruie turns him around. Her eyes are sympathetic. She holds out her arms and he goes into them, too tired and confused to bother pretending he’s in control anymore. Besides, after feeling like the lowest of the low, having someone, anyone, willingly hug him—he needs that.  
> 
> 
> “Thank you,” he says brokenly.  
> 
> 
> “Naoe. You two always do this. It’s just a toxic, vicious cycle. Why don’t you just keep away from him? Your back is almost all healed. Go away. Take a vacation from each other. From the drama.”  
> 
> 
> // _There is no ‘away’ for us._ // “I suppose I should. You and Chiaki can protect him; I’ll figure out a way to break this bond. I’m worried . . . I’m worried I’m driving him insane.”  
> 
> 
> Haruie smirks. “You’re both around the bend.” She clears her throat. “You don’t want a painkiller?”  
> 
> 
> He shakes his head. He doesn’t need one. He needs to get out. “Do you have a car here?”  
> 
> 
> “My bike.” Haruie cocks her head.   
> 
> 
> “Can you drive me to the temple?” // _Take me home._ //  
> 
> 
> He can _see_ Kagetora standing in the kitchen, glass of orange juice suspended on the way to his lips, as he says this to Haruie.  
> 
> 
> “Just as far as the subway, please,” he begs her.  
> 
> 
> “Naoe. Are you sure you’re well enough?”  
> 
> 
> “I’m fine. Physically. I need some space. We both do.”  
> 
> 
> “Na—”  
> 
> 
> “If I don’t get out of here, I’m going to do something we’ll all regret. Don’t you understand? I can’t keep my hands off him!” Naoe turns back to the window, his palms pressing against the transparent barrier. “I almost raped him,” he sobs.   
> 
> 
> “Naoe.”  
> 
> 
> “Get me out of here. Get me out of here, Haruie, before I hurt him any further!” This, he says in a ragged whisper.  
> 
> 
> “All right. Let me get myself together. Two minutes.”  
> 
> 
> He nods. Goes over to the dresser and hunts around for anything that might fit him. There’s nothing but a pair of flannel pajamas. People will think he’s mad, but it’s legally decent enough to get home. At this point, he’d walk, naked, back to the temple.   
> 
> 
> ~ _Running away?_ ~  
> 
> 
> // _Isn’t it what you want?_ //  
> 
> 
> ~ _I’d be just as happy if you were to shrivel up and burn out,_ ~ Kagetora thinks hotly.   
> 
> 
> But Naoe can sense it isn’t true. It still hurts that Kagetora would say such a thing.   
> 
> 
> // _Don’t worry. I’m disappearing. As much as I can while we’re linked. Who knows? Maybe the miles will dampen or break the bond._ //  
> 
> 
> ~ _What if Nobunaga comes back?_ ~  
> 
> 
> // _You’ll have to have Haruie or Chiaki step in front of you this time_ ,// he thinks viciously, tugging the pajamas on and searching for his shoes.   
> 
> 
> He can sense Kagetora’s flinch at that remark and it gives him some satisfaction. // _Good. You can hurt. Nice to see some parts of you are still human._ //  
> 
> 
> ~ _Go to hell._ ~  
> 
> 
> Naoe laughs to himself, opening the door and stalking down to Miya’s room. // _Darling boy, I’ve been following YOU these past four hundred years. Hell would be a nice reprieve._ //  
> 
> 
> Kagetora can think of nothing to say to that. He’s actually stunned.  
> 
> 
> “Haruie,” Naoe bites out. “Let’s go. _Now_.”  
> 
> 
> She frowns but nods, putting her brush down and then zipping up her jacket. “Ah, the pajama look. I’m sure it will be all the rage on the train. Why don’t I just drive you the whole way?”  
> 
> 
> “I’d be grateful.” He doesn’t want to be around people, doesn’t want them staring. “Do you need to say goodbye to Miya and Takaya-san?”  
> 
> 
> “Miya’s left early for school; she has cleaning duty today. And I said good morning to Takaya-san in the kitchen, but he’s . . . not exactly talkative.”  
> 
> 
> “Imagine that.” Naoe stops on the stairs. “Where’s my wallet?”  
> 
> 
> “Good thinking!” Haruie tilts her head, trying to remember. “In the bag of stuff from the hospital. Hang on.” She runs back up stairs.  
> 
> 
> ~ _So. Used me enough and now you’re making a hasty exit? No ‘goodbye dear,’ no kiss?_ ~  
> 
> 
> Naoe grips the railing. // _You want a kiss, Kagetora?_ //   
> 
> 
> He send the man a mental picture of himself, writhing underneath Naoe, body prone and pitching up for more contact, a wanton sensation ricocheting through them both, the loss of breath, the slide of their tongues, the way Kagetora’s fingers threaded through Naoe’s hair . . . // _Test me. I’ll come in that kitchen and have my way with you on the fucking FLOOR._ //  
> 
> 
> He can see Kagetora, scrambling to clutch the countertop as the wave of dark lust crashes over him, totally shocked.   
> 
> 
> // _No? Not in the mood, DEAR? Fine then. As you wish._ //  
> 
> 
> “Here it is!” Haruie says cheerfully.  
> 
> 
> He yanks the wallet out of her hand and rifles through it. He lays several thousand yen on the table beside the front door.  
> 
> 
> “What—?”  
> 
> 
> “For the medicine and food,” he explains, opening the door and stepping out without looking back. The sunshine hurts his eyes. Actually, every step away from Kagetora hurts in a strange way, but he’s glad of it, because that means Kagetora’s hurting too. He has a strange urge to jam something into his thigh, just so Kagetora can wince along with him.  
> 
> 
> He gets on the bike and takes the spare helmet without saying anything. He’s being a bastard to Haruie and he knows it, but she’s putting up with it because it’s clear he can’t help it, and he’s grateful.   
> 
> 
> ~ _Naoe . . ._ ~  
> 
> 
> He doesn’t answer. Haruie kicks the bike started and they race away from Takaya’s house.   
> 
> 
> *
> 
>   
> 
> 
> The bike ride is long and his back hurts from all the little bumps and twists. He thanks Haruie profusely for getting him out of that situation, but he really wants to be alone. Plus, he doesn’t like leaving Kagetora unattended. It really would be a mess if Nobunaga showed up and found a way around Chiaki’s wards.  
> 
> 
> “Can you still sense him?”  
> 
> 
> “Vaguely. It’s . . . muffled. But he’s there.”  
> 
> 
> “What’s he doing now?”  
> 
> 
> “Getting ready for school.” Actually, Kagetora was showering, absently stroking a bar of soap over his chest, his thoughts a million miles away, something about his brother and training to be part of the Uesugi clan.   
> 
> 
> Naoe can’t really tell, because the distance puts a cloudy buffer on his thoughts unless he wants to directly speak to Naoe, which he did only once, just before they reached the shrine.  
> 
> 
> ~ _Figure out how to fix this. Fast._ ~  
> 
> 
> // _Orders aren’t necessary for that._ //  
> 
> 
> The rest is background noise. If he concentrates on something else, he can almost walk completely in his own reality, and ignore what goes on in Kagetora’s. It is some improvement, at least.  
> 
> 
> “Haruie, when he’s at school, Chiaki can watch over him. It’s awful of me, but I’m afraid he’s going to have to pull double duty for a while.”  
> 
> 
> Haruie smiles. “I think watching Yuzuru has become more of a hobby than a duty, anyway.”  
> 
> 
> He looks at her. “You noticed that too, huh?”  
> 
> 
> “Just about the only one who hasn’t noticed is _Yuzuru_.” They share a short laugh. “Ah me, our Chiaki. Who’d have thought?”  
> 
> 
> “He’s a cold fish.”  
> 
> 
> “And Yuzuru’s like a baby chick. I guess I can see where they fit, if I squint real hard.” She chuckles again. “I think, despite himself, Chiaki ended up caring for him quite a bit.”  
> 
> 
> “Inevitably.”  
> 
> 
> Haruie wrinkles her nose. “The boy isn’t _that_ alluring.”  
> 
> 
> Naoe gives a little half-smile. “I meant, caring for someone is almost always despite yourself.”  
> 
> 
> Haruie sighs. “I can see where you’d think that.”  
> 
> 
> “I need a shower. And then I have duties in the temple. You must look after our lord.” He puts a hand on her shoulder. “Haruie, I’m depending on you.”  
> 
> 
> She’s suddenly very serious. “Let’s just pretend for a minute that you guys . . . faint or go nuts or melt into a puddle if you’re separated. We may end up having to just drag you right back.”  
> 
> 
> “I hope not. I’m pretty sure I won’t turn into goo. But if I do, you’ll just have to drive back out here and scoop me up, I guess.” He tugs her into a hug. “Listen. Just . . . watch him carefully, okay? Make sure . . . make sure he takes care of himself.”  
> 
> 
> She pats his back awkwardly. “I will.”  
> 
> 
> “Okay. Now go.” Teasingly, he pushes her down the temple’s steps.   
> 
> 
> He waits until her bike’s out of sight, then goes inside. The first thing he does is call the hotel to pay his outstanding bill, which is enormous and makes him grateful he was reborn into a wealthy family, and he asks the concierge to mail him the remainder of his clothing and belongings.   
> 
> 
> Then he goes to the bathhouse. Except this bath isn’t so much a bath as it is a purification ritual. He starts from his head and works his way down until his toenails are squeaky clean, then he just sits there in the lukewarm water, trying desperately not to think about the last few days.   
> 
> 
> In the back of his mind, he can see Kagetora call Yuzuru and make plans to walk to school together. Chiaki comes along and they meet up half way. The sun is out, the sky is blue, and there’s a nip in the fall air but Kagetora forgot his jacket. Naoe can feel the breeze along his forearms, sure as if he were walking beside the younger man.   
> 
> 
> Kagetora explains that Naoe’s healed and taking some alone time.  
> 
> 
> He’s jealous of Yuzuru, in a way. Yuzuru is so damned close to Kagetora; inspires feelings of protectiveness and synergy in him. Kagetora looks on Yuzuru as a best friend, a brother. Sometimes, a son.   
> 
> 
> Yuzuru not only is lavished with such attention, but is also marked with a special power, a Star, which guarantees an important destiny. He’s a hundred times more powerful than Naoe is as a Possessor.   
> 
> 
> And now he has Chiaki’s affections. Naoe doesn’t know if he could call it love, not yet, but at least he has Chiaki to appreciate every smile, every toss of hair, every little thought that rolls off his tongue.  
> 
> 
> Yes, Naoe is jealous.   
> 
> 
> But he can’t stay bitter at Yuzuru because Yuzuru is so annoyingly _nice_. If Yuzuru knew Naoe’s dark thoughts, he’d be heartbroken. Yuzuru was a lot like Kagetora once was, before . . . everything.   
> 
> 
> Naoe can’t help wondering what it might have been like, if Kagetora didn’t have that sharp, manipulative edge to him. _You are such a glut._ Yes, he supposes that’s true.  
> 
> 
> These thoughts, or rather, the residue emotions these thoughts produce, are upsetting and distracting Kagetora, so Naoe gets out of the bath, changes into soft, dark robes, puts on his beads—such a comforting weight around his neck—and goes to the shrine to meditate on how to sever their bond.   
> 
> 
> He stares at an intricate mandala and can feel his mind slipping into a different state.   
> 
> 
> ***
> 
>   
> 
> 
> _It’s hot. The baking, dry kind of heat that comes from the desert.  
> _
> 
> There’s the scent of fear. And filth.  
> 
> 
> Naoe’s not himself. He’s young and scared. Very scared.   
> 
> 
> Men surround him; he’s on his back.   
> 
> 
> “If you want to hate someone, hate your brother.”  
> 
> 
> They pull apart his knees. A disgusting-looking man settles between his legs and licks a trail up the side of his face.  
> 
> 
> ~Stop!~  
> 
> 
> “Your brother is the one that gave you to us. We’re here to break you. Make you something stronger. You should be thanking us, actually.”  
> 
> 
> ~STOP!~  
> 
> 
> He’s on his hands and knees, getting fucked, slammed into, without any preparation, without any hint of gentleness.   
> 
> 
> The men lick and bite him, make jokes, sneer. They form a circle around him, fisting their thick cocks, beating off, coming on his face and back.  
> 
> 
> ~STOP!!!~  
> 
> 
> “You cannot escape your fate. You are the unlucky star of the Hojo clan!”  
> 
> 
> Wild laughter, and it HURTS, and he’s bleeding, dark red running down his thighs, as one after another, they use him, fuck him, come in and on him.  
> 
> 
> He’s so humiliated. He wants to die.  
> 
> 
> “You can expect this from the Uesugi, Saburo. This is what they’ll do to you. Don’t trust them, you tight little bitch. Use your body, like this, ah, ah, and you’ll have those dogs eating out of your hand. Hah . . .”  
> 
> 
> ~Gods in heaven, make it stop.~  
> 
> 
> But it doesn’t, not for hours. When the last man finally empties inside his body, he’s near death.   
> 
> 
> “Look how filthy you are, worthy Saburo Kagetora. Don’t worry, we’ll clean you up. No one will ever know by looking at you, what you are now. The Hojo whore.”  
> 
> 
> ~Someone . . . someone hold me. Protect me . . . Someone . . .~  
> 
> 
> “You be sure and remember this little lesson. Remember that, when the Uesugi ask you to trust them.”  
> 
> 
> ~I hate you. I HATE you.~  
> 
> 
> ***
> 
>   
> 
> 
> Naoe clutches his chest, slumping over on himself. Distantly, he can see Kagetora, sitting in math class, zoning out, remembering this . . . this . . . atrocity . . .   
> 
> 
> ~ _Don’t! Don’t you dare! This isn’t for you to see! Get OUT of my . . . of my . . ._ ~  
> 
> 
> Kagetora falls out of his chair and sprawls onto the floor. Yuzuru’s face hovers over him, and then he blacks out.  
> 
> 
> The link between Kagetora and Naoe turns into static, then quiet.   
> 
> 
> Naoe’s up and running for the door—  
> 
> 
> He’s snatching up his car keys—  
> 
> 
> Driving like a maniac to Matsumoto—  
> 
> 
> Racing up to the high school, his heart pounding like a drum—  
> 
> 
> Taking the stairs two by two, instinctively turning left and then left again until he reaches the infirmary—  
> 
> 
> Pushing his way through the school staff and yanking back the white curtain—  
> 
> 
> “Naoe,” Kagetora breathes. He looks so pale and lifeless; exhausted. “You’ve come to take me home?”  
> 
> 
> He collapses on the boy, his shoulders shaking. “I didn’t know. I didn’t know, my lord.”  
> 
> 
> The staff don’t know what to do; they stand on the periphery, watching. Kagetora’s hands stroke his hair back. “I know.”  
> 
> 
> “I didn’t!”  
> 
> 
> “I didn’t want you to.” Kagetora smiles at him. “At least, for four hundred years, I got to keep the illusion of my pride.” The younger man chokes up. ~ _You pity me now. You think I’m broken. Used._ ~  
> 
> 
> He scoops Kagetora up in an embrace and barrels past the nurses while they babble about permission slips and paperwork.   
> 
> 
> Kagetora doesn’t say anything, just winds his arms around Naoe’s neck and clings, burying his face in Naoe’s chest as the other students stare, open-mouthed. Naoe quickly carries the boy to the car.   
> 
> 
> ~ _I wish someone would hold me._ ~ “Put me down; I can walk.”  
> 
> 
> “We’re already here.” Naoe puts Kagetora on his feet but keeps his hand on the small of the boy’s back while he unlocks the car.   
> 
> 
> Without a word, Kagetora gets in. They drive back to the house, neither of them saying much, both trying hard not to think. Kagetora is embarrassed—no, ashamed. Naoe is ashamed too, suddenly so many things he should have realized earlier pop up in his mind.   
> 
> 
> “You must hate me,” he whispers.  
> 
> 
> Kagetora nods. ~ _Don’t leave me._ ~  
> 
> 
> // _You know I’m yours. NOTHING can change that. This just . . . explains so much._ //  
> 
> 
> “Do _not_ start with that compassionate psycho-babble bullshit. Yes, I was raped. More than just that once. That is not the ever-elusive key that unlocks all my mysteries, Naoe. It’s not _who_ or _what_ I am; it’s just a part of me.” ~ _Linked or not, you’ll never understand all of me._ ~  
> 
> 
> A pregnant pause. “That doesn’t mean I’ll stop trying.”  
> 
> 
> Kagetora looks sour. He closes his eyes and leans against the window.   
> 
> 
> *
> 
>   
> 
> 
> When they get home, Kagetora doesn’t even bother going up to the bedroom. He heads straight for the couch, plops down, and puts his arm over his eyes.   
> 
> 
> “Do you want something to drink? You didn’t eat lunch.”  
> 
> 
> “I want to sleep,” Kagetora says flatly.  
> 
> 
> Naoe nods, and Kagetora can’t see that but it doesn’t matter since they are joined anyway, but he can sense Naoe’s reluctant acquiescence the way an animal senses an approaching storm. It’s just _there_ , banging on his bones.   
> 
> 
> The boy sleeps and Naoe sits on the floor beside him, studying his face, those sharp features smooth in slumber, the rise and fall of his chest, the sound of his breathing. Slow. Steady. Nothing on the outside to indicate what’s going on underneath the surface.  
> 
> 
> Naoe loves him, wants to protect him, wishes there was some test he could undergo to prove that to Kagetora, to make him believe in it, learn to trust, give himself over to Naoe.   
> 
> 
> But four hundred years and counting, and he’d still not been able to convince the man.  
> 
> 
> Then, driven mad by the endless rejection and the fear of losing Kagetora forever, he’d raped Kagetora’s woman, impregnated her, and killed her to save his lord. Worse than killed her—he’d exiled her soul, using her body to shelter Kagetora. And when his lord discovered this, he’d killed himself, or rather, killed Minako’s body and the child within.  
> 
> 
> Naoe had thought it was grief; thought it was a way of punishing _him_ , to destroy his sacrifice, to snuff out his own child of sin. And perhaps all that was true. But now he realized, it was also in part because Kagetora couldn’t bear one more rape, couldn’t stand to bear a child of rape and look at it every day, couldn’t accept that Naoe would betray him so horribly.  
> 
> 
> He wanted to flay his back open again, and he probably would have, if Kagetora wouldn’t share the pain.  
> 
> 
> ~ _Stop it. It’s pointless._ ~  
> 
> 
> Naoe is surprised that he didn’t realize Kagetora woke up. // _I can’t help it. I hate myself. I hate what I’ve done. I hate not realizing . . . not protecting you._ //  
> 
> 
> ~ _You didn’t know me then._ ~  
> 
> 
> // _I meant . . . Minako. I hate what I did to you, to her. All of it is my fault._ //  
> 
> 
> ~ _That’s just like you, taking the whole blame. Give some of it to me. To the bastards that did what they did to me. To my brother, for giving them permission. Blame the world. Blame history. Blame the Gods. It really doesn’t matter, since blame doesn’t do any good. We’re past all that, aren’t we?_ ~  
> 
> 
> // _Kagetora-sama . . ._ //  
> 
> 
> Naoe reaches out and wraps his fingers around Kagetora’s ankle, needing the tenuous connection.   
> 
> 
> ~ _If you need my forgiveness, I can’t give it to you. I can’t forgive MYSELF for letting it happen, either. If you need forgiveness, then I’m sorry, but you won’t get it._ ~  
> 
> 
> Naoe starts crying then, a silent, heaving, hiccupping kind of sob. Kagetora clucks his tongue.  
> 
> 
> ~ _Come here, Naoe._ ~  
> 
> 
> Naoe cries until it’s all out, then he edges closer to Kagetora.  
> 
> 
> ~ _Come up here._ ~  
> 
> 
> Kagetora turns on his side, his back smooshed up against the old, tatty sofa. Without thought, Naoe slips into his arms, lying down beside him, brow to brow, chest to chest.  
> 
> 
> ~ _Hold me a while._ ~  
> 
> 
> // _Always. Always._ //  
> 
> 
> Kagetora smiles. He hasn’t opened his eyes this entire time. It almost affords them both some privacy.   
> 
> 
> // _You’re so much more beautiful than you know._ //  
> 
> 
> ~ _Am I?_ ~ Kagetora cups his cheek, presses their lips together in a chaste kiss. ~ _Rest now._ ~  
> 
> 
> // _Yes._ //  
> 
> 
> *
> 
>   
> 
> 
> They sleep twined around each other for a few hours. Naoe wakes when Haruie comes home. He freezes when she walks into the room and takes in the sight of them on the couch.  
> 
> 
> “Uh _huh_ ,” is all she says.  
> 
> 
> He doesn’t move because he doesn’t want to wake Kagetora. “Haruie . . .”  
> 
> 
> “I’m not even the least surprised. You were gone, what? Five, six hours?”  
> 
> 
> “Three,” Kagetora says into Naoe’s chest. “He started back after three hours.”  
> 
> 
> “Kagetora-sama.”  
> 
> 
> Kagetora sits up and shakes his head. “I better call Yuzuru. He’s gonna be worried.”  
> 
> 
> “Why?” Haruie asks.  
> 
> 
> “Because I was in the infirmary today. Had myself a fainting spell.”  
> 
> 
> “Because of the bond?” Haruie guesses.  
> 
> 
> “No—” Naoe starts to say.  
> 
> 
> “Yes.” Kagetora shoots him a look, pushing him off the sofa so he can get up. “In a way. I’m fine now. I need to tell Yuzuru before he storms in here—”  
> 
> 
> Just then, the door bangs open and a very disgruntled-looking blond rushes in, followed by Chiaki, who looks like he could commit murder.   
> 
> 
> “I left you safe and sound in the infirmary!” Yuzuru cries.  
> 
> 
> “I turn my back for one minute, one _minute_ , to bring you a lunch tray, and you’re gone. Gone!” Chiaki bellows.   
> 
> 
> He and Yuzuru overlap one another in their efforts to rip Kagetora a new one. “Looked everywhere for you . . .”  
> 
> 
> “Thought about Nobunaga, but none of Chiaki’s wards went off . . .”  
> 
> 
> “And I knew Naoe would turn inside out his _asshole_ if anything happened to you—”  
> 
> 
> “The nurses said some strange man carried you off . . .”  
> 
> 
> “And, of course, it was _you_ , Naoe, and you’re back _here_ , but not answering the phone, and Kagetora, didn’t you say he went home?”  
> 
> 
> Kagetora laughs. An actual, kind laugh. “You guys. I’m fine. I don’t think it’s a good idea for Naoe and I to be apart for long periods,” the boy hazards a glance at Naoe, but he doesn’t say anything to hinder wherever Kagetora’s going with his, “as I get very tired and tend to space out. He’s back now, and he’ll stay back until we figure out how to break this link. We may have to capture Nobunaga; he may be the only one who can tell us how.”  
> 
> 
> Everyone stood stock-still.  
> 
> 
> “Well, why don’t you just ask us to lasso the sun?” Haruie says sweetly.  
> 
> 
> Kagetora pins her with a look. “Because the _sun_ won’t be much good right now, but Nobunaga will. I mean it, guys. We’ve sat here a week and done nothing. Well, okay, Naoe’s healed. But now it’s time to take this on the offensive. Put out the word. Let the other clans know. Do whatever you have to. We need to find Nobunaga.”  
> 
> 
> // _And then what? Let him turn your soul into anti-matter?_ //  
> 
> 
> “Yes, Naoe,” Kagetora says sarcastically. “That was top of my to-do list. Then we figure out a way to kill the bastard. _After_ he breaks this bond.”  
> 
> 
> // _I think we’d have better luck bringing you the sun._ //  
> 
> 
> Kagetora stands up and says, “I’m hungry. Where’s Miya? . . . And Naoe?”  
> 
> 
> “Yes?” Naoe says, startled to be talking out loud.  
> 
> 
> “Shut up.”  
> 
> 
> // _Yes, my lord._ //  
> 
> 
> *
> 
>   
> 
> 
> Miya comes home and heats up some leftovers. Dinner is quick. Naoe eats twice as much as anyone else.   
> 
> 
> Yuzuru and Chiaki don’t stay long; Chiaki has to pound pavement to figure out where Nobunaga might be holed up, and Yuzuru needs to study for the literature test Kagetora will undoubtedly be failing tomorrow.  
> 
> 
> Haruie begs the night off now that Naoe is back and healed, and neither he nor Kagetora can think of a reason—beyond their own awkwardness—for keeping her there. The wards are in place. They are as safe as possible.  
> 
> 
> That leaves them alone in Kagetora’s bedroom.   
> 
> 
> “Do you want help studying for that test?” Naoe asks.  
> 
> 
> Kagetora’s on his back, staring up at the stars through the window. ~ _Not really. It’s not like I’m going to college or anything anyway._ ~  
> 
> 
> Naoe sighs. His master never used to get in these ruts; he was always eager for training, for testing his skill. He’d always believed he’d had a future.  
> 
> 
> ~ _I was young and naïve. There’s no need to rub it in._ ~  
> 
> 
> // _You have more potential power in your pinky than most people garner in a lifetime. I cannot help but be disappointed to see you waste that._ //  
> 
> 
> “What? Now you want me to get into an Ivy League school with the pittance of money I get from my parents and become a Nobel laureate or something? Join the soccer team and go pro? Be a business major and work as a salary man in between exorcisms? Leave it alone, Naoe. I don’t want to fucking study.”  
> 
> 
> Thinning his lips, Naoe sits at the desk with his back to Kagetora. Then it dawns on him. He smiles and opens Takaya’s textbook.   
> 
> 
> He begins reading. In his head. Loudly. Making a point to emphasize all the important parts of the story.  
> 
> 
> ~ _Fucking hate you._ ~ Kagetora throws a pillow at Naoe’s head.  
> 
> 
> He lets it bounce off without a blink, and continues to read. // _The Tale of Genji used to be one of your favorites. Literature sure has changed a lot since then, hm?_ //  
> 
> 
> ~ _Why are you doing this?_ ~  
> 
> 
> // _Because I want my master to succeed. Whether it’s at school or at home or on the battlefield. Now be quiet. I’m getting to the good part._ //  
> 
> 
> Groaning, Kagetora tries to block Naoe out at first, but little by little, he’s pulled into the story, lulled by the sound of Naoe’s voice in his head, by the way Naoe imagines what’s unfolding in the tale. Naoe can sense this.   
> 
> 
> He’s a little surprised when he finishes the book and closes it softly. Kagetora liked the story. A lot. He can tell.  
> 
> 
> “Naoe?”  
> 
> 
> “Hm?”  
> 
> 
> “Come to bed?”  
> 
> 
> He hesitates, so afraid he might lose control again.  
> 
> 
> ~ _You won’t. Not now that you know. I can feel that; trust yourself._ ~  
> 
> 
> Nodding, he goes to the futon and begins to disrobe.   
> 
> 
> “I’m not used to you in monk’s robes.”  
> 
> 
> “You’ve seen me most often in military uniforms, over the centuries.” He slides into bed. Kagetora does not come near him.  
> 
> 
> “I want to go to Minako’s grave tomorrow.”  
> 
> 
> Naoe is stunned. “Why?”  
> 
> 
> ~ _I want to say goodbye. Put the past to rest._ ~  
> 
> 
> He reaches out and holds Kagetora’s hand. Kagetora lets him. “Okay.”  
>   
> 


	5. Chapter 5

> Chapter 5  
> 
> 
>   
> 
> 
> They head out as soon as Kagetora is finished with school.
> 
> Minako's grave is quite a journey. And it's not really _Minako's_ grave, either. Minako's soul has been pushed back into the misty otherworld, trapped between the living world and where souls rest before being reborn.
> 
> Kagetora, Naoe, Haruie, Chiaki... none of the Yashashu are exactly sure _what_ happens to the souls of the bodies they inhabit. They can't sense them after a while, so they just refer to them as 'gone'.
> 
> The 'grave' they go to visit is the one Naoe prepared for Kagetora, when he died in Minako's body. It's not lavish, but it is dignified and stately, kept in perfect order.
> 
> Kagetora shoots Naoe a questioning glance.
> 
> // _I'm a monk. It makes sense to keep these sorts of things well tended._ //
> 
> It takes a while to process that Naoe's been coming to this site every so often, to tend to the grave of a woman whose spirit probably doesn't exist anymore and of a man whose spirit is, daily, right in front of him.
> 
> // _I'm still mourning what I lost that day._ //
> 
> He frowns. The child? Minako, herself? Naoe's sanity?
> 
> // _Your trust._ //
> 
> ~ _Then you need to mourn the day you started being such a prick to me, you irresponsible bastard._ ~ Anger flares up in him. _He_ trusted Naoe as far as he trusted anybody, until Naoe gave him reason after reason not to.
> 
> "Lord Kenshin ordered me to make you strong. He _ordered_ me to show you no mercy, no pity."
> 
> "And you're so good at following orders, Naoe. Never one to think for yourself. You're such a good little _slave_."
> 
> Naoe grimaces. // _It hurt. Every time you fell and I couldn't pick you back up, it hurt._ //
> 
> ~ _Bullshit._ ~
> 
> // _You have access to the very heart of me. You know I'm not lying._ //
> 
> Kagetora really wants to walk away, but there's nowhere he can go that Naoe won't already be right beside him. _In_ side him. "Just shut up."
> 
> Naoe pauses. "I think you turned to Minako because she was gentle and kind, at a time when, no matter where you turned, there was no kindness to be had."
> 
> ~ _How very insightful. Whose fault was that, do you suppose?_ ~
> 
> // _Mine. And Lord Kenshin's._ //
> 
> Kagetora wants to slap Naoe across the mouth, but instead he balls his fists up in the pockets of his jacket. Why does he have to keep going through this? Why can't the past just die like it does for everybody else? He didn't want this. He never _asked_ for this!
> 
> Naoe sighs. "Minako-san was probably the only one in the world that never once did you wrong."
> 
> That pricked him. "She never told me about you. About what you did. She was going to have that child and tell me it was mine, it seems."
> 
> Smiling, Naoe nods. "Perhaps she thought that best for you and the baby."
> 
> "She _lied_ , though."
> 
> "She felt like she had to, just as you felt like you had to. For four hundred years, I might add." Naoe sounds angry, the dark, slow-burning kind of anger that's always more dangerous than rage.
> 
> "Did she think I would blame her? Deny the child? Kill you?"
> 
> "Probably."
> 
> "Well, I _would_ have killed you, if I could have," Kagetora murmurs.
> 
> "For certain. I deserved it. That and worse."
> 
> ~ _Stop saying 'mea culpa'. Don't rob me of my anger... It's all I have,_ ~ Kagetora thinks in a tiny voice.
> 
> "You will always have me. I'm not much, but I'm always here. Down at heel."
> 
> "Shit." Kagetora wipes his eyes with the back of his hand. "You piece of _shit_."
> 
> Naoe says nothing for a while. Then, "Why did you come here? What is it you wanted?"
> 
> ~ _To say goodbye._ ~
> 
> // _She can't hear you._ //
> 
> ~ _I need to let go of this. I just don't know how..._ ~
> 
> "Kagetora-sama."
> 
> "I wish all this would just end. I wish it would _end_."
> 
> "Kagetora-sama." Naoe reaches out, but Kagetora bats his hand away.
> 
> "Oh, _fuck_ you. Don't offer me this passive crap. It's all _you_! If only you'd let me go!" Kagetora pounds on Naoe's chest. "If I'd never been born to the Hojo, none of this would have happened to me. Then I could be free. Free to love you. Free to never see you again, if I wanted!"
> 
> The older man just stands there, numb.
> 
> "I don't want this! I don't want these memories; this mission. I don't give a flying shit about exorcising spirits! I just want it done. I want it done. I want it done."
> 
> Naoe smacks him, hard enough to turn his face to the side. "Pull yourself together," he says quietly. "You are Lord Kenshin's heir. Thousands of souls depend upon you. Whatever is between us barely matters."
> 
> // _Get mad, if you have to. Go on a rampage. Strangle me in my sleep, if you want. But don't lose sight of yourself._ //
> 
> ~ _I've got nothing left in me._ ~
> 
> // _A lie._ //
> 
> "I hate you," Kagetora whispers.
> 
> "Good. Go on hating me, then. Hate me. Hate me for sealing your memories. Hate me for loving you. Hate me for forcing you to live. Hate me for forcing myself on your woman - you should know though, that while it could be called rape, _I_ made her come - go on, hate me."
> 
> His fist flies out and connects with Naoe's face several times before he realizes he's swinging. Naoe is not hitting back. Kagetora's not giving him enough time. Punch after punch, until Naoe's face is bruised and small cuts spit blood.
> 
> // _Come on. I know there's more. Give it to me._ // Naoe goads him on.
> 
> They're rolling around on the ground now, Kagetora on top, punching; then Naoe on top, licking the blood from Kagetora's cracked knuckles.
> 
> ~ _I wish you'd just FADE AWAY!_ ~ Kagetora screams in their minds.
> 
> Naoe's thoughts aren't even coherent; they're rabid and terrifying. The older man pins him down but doesn't do anything other than stare at him.
> 
> // _Exorcise me._ //
> 
> Kagetora stops. "What?"
> 
> "Make me. Make me fade away. If it will finally bring you peace. I can't bear it anymore, either."
> 
> They stare at each other, frozen. The link is pulsing between them, fueled by hatred and desire. Unthinkingly, Kagetora goes slack and reaches up to cup Naoe's face. He pulls Naoe down into a soft kiss.
> 
> It quickly turns more heated.
> 
> ~ _Wait... Don't do this. Not in front of her._ ~
> 
> // _She can't see it._ // But Naoe breaks away and sits up on Kagetora's stomach.
> 
> The sunlight beats down on them. It's not quite autumn. The graveyard is deserted. Only the breeze greets this tense silence.
> 
> "Naoe." He can feel Naoe's conflicted desire and desolation. It adds to his own fatigue. "You're such a weight around my neck."
> 
> Glaring, Naoe bends down and kisses his throat. He arches up because it feels so good, so _good_ when Naoe's gentle and subservient like this, like Kagetora has all the control, like Kagetora's pleasure is the summit of his ambitions.
> 
> "Well, well. Sex in a graveyard. How... cliché."
> 
> They both startle up to see-
> 
> "Kousaka!" Naoe growls.
> 
> "Two dogs rolling on the ground, snapping at each other." The man laughs suddenly. "Naoe, your _face_! Oh, I pine for my camera."
> 
> "Kousaka, you waste of skin," Kagetora says, annoyed that Naoe isn't letting him up, but, thanks to the bond, aware that the older man is acting as a deliberate barrier between the two. "What do you want?"
> 
> "Mind your manners, brat." Kousaka smiles.
> 
> "Kousaka." Naoe stands - still putting himself between Kagetora and the Takeda warrior - and says, "What are you doing here?"
> 
> "Oh, you know. I take a stroll around graveyards for fun. I like looking at the markers. Some of them are really quite lovely." His grin cuts like sharp metal.
> 
> "Shopping for your own?" Kagetora gets quickly to his feet. He's confused. That's twice this man just randomly shows up when he's with Naoe. And he can sense it isn't because Naoe and Kousaka share any sort of history, ancient or recent, that would make them want to spend time together.
> 
> "You better put ice on those," Kousaka says absently, lighting a cigarette.
> 
> Kagetora looks over. Naoe's face really _is_ in bad shape. He'd never been able to get the best of the older man before. He was just really pissed off at that line about making Minako... come...
> 
> // _I was deliberately out of line. I wanted to make you angry. To prove to you that you DO have power left... I actually don't remember much of anything about the entire incident. I remember coming to and she was crying._ //
> 
> Kagetora can see it in Naoe's mind, the image of Minako in torn clothing, sobbing, hunched over.
> 
> ~ _I don't want to see it!_ ~
> 
> "Neither. Do. I." Naoe grits out.
> 
> "Ho?" Kousaka lifts his eyebrows. "So it's true. You're in each other's noodles." He taps his head. "My, my, the _games_ you children play."
> 
> The creepy man makes the mistake of leaning against Minako's marker.
> 
> "Get off!" Kagetora bites out, launching himself at Kousaka.
> 
> Naoe turns at the last minute and catches him by the middle. He shoves Kagetora back and then spins around and fists Kousaka's shirt, tossing him to the side. "Show some respect," he hisses.
> 
> "Just following your example," Kousaka says with a tight smile.
> 
> Kagetora senses that Naoe's fast deflating. There's only so much any man can take until pride becomes inadequate armor.
> 
> "That's _my_ dog, Kousaka. _I'm_ the only one that can rub his nose in it," Kagetora says. He slowly walks up to Kousaka and grins. "So? Spit it out."
> 
> // _Kagetora-sama?_ //
> 
> ~ _He's here for a reason, obviously._ ~
> 
> "Watching you two hold a mental conversation is odd." Kousaka takes a drag on his cigarette and blows the smoke in Naoe's face.
> 
> Kagetora knows Naoe really, really, _really_ wants a cigarette right now. He steps forward, but Naoe blocks him with his broad shoulder. "We're going to walk away if you don't start talking."
> 
> "Aaa~aaah." Kousaka pouts. "You two have no sense of humor at all when you're one."
> 
> He and Naoe both freeze at that. "What's that mean?"
> 
> Kousaka spares a glance at Kagetora. "It means you're both wet rags. You take everything so seriously. Lighten up. It's only the end of the world." Kousaka holds out his hands as if to shrug.
> 
> "Kousaka," Naoe warns.
> 
> "You and the Uesugi runt," he points to Kagetora, "are bonded, right? More so than before."
> 
> "Before?" Kagetora asks.
> 
> Naoe swallows. "When you were in the mirror, I could hear your thoughts. When you fight, I know where you are, how to get to you. When you're reborn, I sense when and where. But it's always been me. And the other Possessors. We sense you. You've never sensed us. You've never... understood me." // _You never tried._ //
> 
> Kagetora is too stunned to answer that.
> 
> Kousaka just nods. "It's the same for all those who swore loyalty to their lord. It's a binding oath."
> 
> Naoe folds his arms. "And? So? Therefore? Why are you _here_ , Kousaka?"
> 
> "Because my clan has a tiny problem with the Uesugi forming soul-bonds. It upsets the balance, you see." Kousaka looks at them like they're missing something obvious.
> 
> "Soul-bonds?" Kagetora folds his arms too, now. He and Naoe have no idea what this guy is talking about.
> 
> "It's simple math, morons. One extremely powerful Possessor plus one extremely powerful Seeded Possessor equals the strength and power of two extremely fucking powerful Possessors. Or haven't you noticed?" Kousaka rolls his eyes. "Increased strength? Regenerative healing? Doubled spirit force? Twice the... appetites?"
> 
> ~ _Why would that bother the Takeda? It's the same as if the two of us were fighting alongside each other in any other battle._ ~
> 
> // _No. It means that my strengths are yours and yours are mine. We have combined wisdom, history, experience, skill. We fill up each others holes. Or, we could, if we wanted. He fears it. I can tell._ //
> 
> "What's the matter?" Kagetora says. "Afraid we'll send all your spirit warriors to hell and Shingen won't get to play Underworld dictator?"
> 
> Kousaka fixes him with a look. "More like, we don't want you and Naoe resurrecting Lord Kenshin, so _he_ can play dictator."
> 
> Kagetora snarls, "Kenshin _never_ had such ambition. He just didn't want to leave the people at the mercy of pigs like you and the Oda." They both remember Nobunaga Oda's cruel actions which earned him the title Demon King of the Sixth Heaven.
> 
> "Trust in that, do you?" Kousaka asks, taking a long drag. He flicks the ash away. "I'm so comforted."
> 
> "Kousaka, I'm not sure what you hoped to accomplish," Naoe says as civilly as he can. "We'd like to break this bond as well, for our own purposes, but neither of us knows how. We're not even sure what created the link in the first place. Unless you can shed some light on that, you're wasting your time."
> 
> "Naoe. How a man as brilliant as you can be so stupid sometimes..." Kousaka runs his tongue along his lips.
> 
> It makes Kagetora shiver.
> 
> "Look," the Takeda general says. "Like anything important in this universe, bonds are half destiny and half free will. You have to choose it, and it has to choose you. You can choose against it, and it can just up and disappear on you."
> 
> Kagetora has almost no clue what the man is talking about, really.
> 
> Kousaka sighs and appeals to Naoe. " _You_ were the one that created a bracelet out of thin air, to put up a barrier around Yuzuru's body and soul, so that Lord Shingen couldn't possess him. As far as I can tell, Kagetora _possessed_ you. Or rather, brought you into himself, so that you're possessing him. That's a bond he chose. It wouldn't have been possible if it wasn't also fated. So, create a barrier. That way you get to keep your thoughts to yourself, and the Takeda don't have to assassinate you just to keep the scales even."
> 
> ~ _Can you do that?_ ~
> 
> // _I'm so stupid; I didn't think of it before._ //
> 
> "Well shit," Kagetora said.
> 
> "Ah, the lights come on." Kousaka takes another puff. "It might not work. It's just a little theory of mine. My orders are to kill one or both of you, but gosh, Naoe, damn it all if I didn't come to _respect you so darn much_ ," he says acerbically. "If you can separate, I can tell my clan you've been neutralized and nobody has to die today."
> 
> "Why do you care?" Kagetora pushes Naoe to the side with two fingers, sick of craning around the older man.
> 
> "Naoe's pretty to look at when he's angry. And you amuse me. So, what do you say, Naoe?"
> 
> Naoe closes his eyes. "It's worth a try."
> 
> Kagetora can't explain why he feels a little lost, suddenly. "Yes. Do it. Whatever you did to Yuzuru, try it."
> 
> "I'll probably need your help. My powers are tied with yours now," Naoe says, turning his back on Kousaka.
> 
> "Right. So, what, just...?"
> 
> // _I'll show you in here._ //
> 
> ~ _Ah, one of the perks of this benefits package._ ~
> 
> // _Are you certain you want to dissolve the bond?_ //
> 
> Kagetora swallows. "Yes."
> 
> Nodding, Naoe puts his hands together and chants. In his mind's eye, Kagetora can see where he's going with this and he does likewise.
> 
> The chanting doesn't take long.
> 
> The force of positive and negative energy flowing between them is as strong as two monolithic magnets. It crackles through the air and makes their hair stand on end.
> 
> Then, suddenly, Kagetora can feel a necklace at his throat. A thin choker. It's... not heavy but it does feel strange. He opens his eyes and sees that Naoe wears a blue one.
> 
> ~ _Did it work?_ ~
> 
> Naoe frowns. "That's the entire spell."
> 
> ~ _Can you hear me?_ ~
> 
> Silence. Blessed, aching, bruising silence.
> 
> "Try to think at me," Naoe says.
> 
> "I am."
> 
> "Then it works. I... I don't feel you in me, either."
> 
> "Right." Kagetora nods dumbly. "You're not in my head."
> 
> Kousaka blows smoke out his nose. "Collars? Ha. How fitting, Naoe."
> 
> It takes them a while to get used to the sensation.
> 
> Then Naoe turns on the man. "Thank you for your... suggestion. As you can see, things have been restored to normal. Tell the Takeda; however, if they send any assassins Kagetora-sama's way, I'll bring merry hell with me next time."
> 
> "Ooh." Kousaka winks at Kagetora. "Kinda sexy when he gets all butch, huh?" The other man grinds his cigarette under his heel and walks away.
> 
> "Son of a bitch," Kagetora whispers.
> 
> "Wait, please," Naoe calls.
> 
> Kousaka stops but doesn't turn around.
> 
> "Do you know anything of Nobunaga?"
> 
> A pregnant pause. "I know plenty."
> 
> "And?"
> 
> Spinning around on his heel, Kousaka starts walking backwards, grinning. "And I've helped you enough for today, Uesugi. Consider it a secret."
> 
> "I really hate surprises," Kagetora says flatly.
> 
> "I know," Naoe replies.
> 
> "Don't worry, doggies," Kousaka calls over his shoulder. "It's only a matter of time before you play with him again! Fate and choice and all that!"
> 
> The man turns a corner and Kagetora knows without having to look that he's gone. That kind of flashy, melodramatic shit pisses him off. Naoe... he has no idea how Naoe feels. The man's back is rigid and his expression is closed off.
> 
> "Kagetora-sama. I'll drive you home."
> 
> He doesn't say anything. Suddenly he feels like he can't talk to Naoe without the bond. Like his throat closed up. Like a limb just got hacked off. But the silence is driving him nuts.
> 
> "Naoe? Are you okay? Your back... and everything... doesn't hurt?"
> 
> The older man opens Kagetora's car door without glancing back and then goes to the other side. "My _back_ is healed." They don't need telepathy for Kagetora to figure out the man's face is probably burning with pain.
> 
> "That's good." He feels nervous and he doesn't know why. He gets in and pulls the visor down, looking at himself in the mirror. His collar is orange. The color of Naoe's blaze. "This doesn't match with anything I have."
> 
> Naoe smirks. "Your uniform is brown. Your hair is black. It'll be fine."
> 
> "Orange is a stupid color. It should be reserved for oranges."
> 
> "And tigers," Naoe adds quietly.
> 
> ~ _I miss you, you son of a bitch,_ ~ Kagetora thinks to himself.
> 
> * * *
> 
> The drive home is so quiet, it's almost painful. But that's what he wanted. The simplicity; the calm. His thoughts to himself. He doesn't want to know how tortured Naoe is; how in love Naoe is; how full of doubt and good intentions Naoe is.
> 
> He'll never be able to forget, now.
> 
> Absently, he strokes his necklace. "We can take these off, can't we? If we want the link?"
> 
> Naoe raises his eyebrows. "Yes."
> 
> "And it won't fade away over time. It won't disappear, right?" He licks his lips.
> 
> Pausing, the other man considers his words. Kagetora is slightly affronted that he's not privy to that inner debate.
> 
> "I think it will remain until we find a reversal spell. If there is a reversal spell. Some things can't be undone. But then maybe it was only temporary to begin with."
> 
> That's the most Naoe's said since the incantation. Kagetora knows that he's always been a solemn man; a man of few words, speaking only when necessary. But his thoughts were lively, structured, and intricate. Kagetora misses that.
> 
> "I think we should test it."
> 
> The older man pushes the turn signal lever down and makes a deft left turn across traffic. "As you wish."
> 
> Hesitantly, Kagetora unsnaps his choker. He doesn't feel any different.
> 
> Naoe breathes in sharply through his nose.
> 
> "What?"
> 
> "I can sense you." The older man looks uncomfortable.
> 
> "You can?"
> 
> "Yes."
> 
> ~ _What am I thinking?_ ~
> 
> "Predictably, you're thinking, 'what am I thinking?'"
> 
> "Ah. Um. Well, what am I feeling?"
> 
> Naoe doesn't say anything for a while, then whispers, "You always rake me over the coals, don't you?"
> 
> "What?"
> 
> "You're feeling lonely, Kagetora-sama."
> 
> It's embarrassing because it's true. "Take off your collar."
> 
> "No. We've established that it works. Now put yours back on."
> 
> ~ _Do it._ ~ It's a command.
> 
> "Kage-"
> 
> "I'm ordering you."
> 
> Reluctantly, Naoe reaches up with his right hand and pulls off his necklace.
> 
> // _...touch him. Want him so much. Drive, Naoe, drive. Why does he do this to me? Just breathe. Need to touch him..._ //
> 
> "Naoe," Kagetora murmurs, placing his hand over Naoe's.
> 
> The charge is electric and more than pleasant. They both shiver.
> 
> // _Please,_ // he begs, // _put it back on or I'll..._ //
> 
> Kagetora quickly puts the collar back on. Naoe relaxes somewhat, but Kagetora can still sense the other man: the throb in Naoe's groin, the sanity barely in tact, the ache and the depression.
> 
> "You're driving. Here, let me." He takes the collar and puts it back around Naoe's neck.
> 
> // _Yes. Put your dog's leash back on and-_ // The thought is abruptly cut off once Kagetora fastens the clasp.
> 
> Click.
> 
> And just like that, they're two separate people again.
> 
> "Naoe..."
> 
> "Don't." Naoe tilts his head. "Just let it be."
> 
> So Kagetora says nothing, all the way home.
> 
> * * *
> 
> They pull up to the driveway as the sun sets. Haruie's bike and Chiaki's car are parked along side Takaya's beat up bike. He and Yuzuru worked on it for days to get it back in working order, but he's still too poor to get the dents hammered out since that incident with Haruie and the puppy.
> 
> "We're home!" Kagetora calls.
> 
> Yuzuru is the first to come running up to him. "Na...Naoe, your _face_! You, too?"
> 
> "Him too, what...? It's a long story," Kagetora says. "What's up, Yuzuru?"
> 
> The boy's face is ashen. "Takaya..."
> 
> "What's wrong, Narita-kun?" Naoe asks.
> 
> "It's Miya." The boy swallows, looking back to Takaya. "He got Miya."
> 
> Kagetora grips Yuzuru's forearms. "Who got Miya?"
> 
> "Nobunaga, of course," Chiaki says, coming behind Yuzuru and gently but firmly removing Kagetora's hands from their death grip.
> 
> Rage. Like lava in his veins. "HARUIE!"
> 
> "She's badly hurt, Takaya," Yuzuru says.
> 
> "What happened?" he demands.
> 
> Naoe's arm sneaks around his waist, but he doesn't have time to get pissy about it. In fact, it's kinda comforting, not that he'd admit it in a million years. "Kagetora-sama. Sit down with me."
> 
> "Yeah, you're gonna wanna sit down," Chiaki says.
> 
> Kagetora lets Naoe lead him to the sofa. "What. Happened. To. My. Sister?"
> 
> Chiaki clears his throat. "After school, you and Naoe went to... Um, yes, you left. Yuzuru and I decided to treat Haruie and Miya to some ice cream, seeing as how they've been under quite a bit of strain with handling all us guys lately. We were walking back through the park when it just happened. It was like... like..."
> 
> "A sonar pulse. We all just went down. Nobunaga... put up some kind of barrier." Yuzuru's eyes cloud over.
> 
> "The outside world couldn't see it. And that's good, because, Kagetora, he looks... He looks..."
> 
> "Like a skeleton with sunken flesh." Yuzuru shudders.
> 
> Just like Kagetora's dream.
> 
> "It might be an effect of the spell he lodged at you, or of the one you hurled at him. He scooped up Miya and told us that if you wanted her unharmed you'd have to come to the park at midnight." Chiaki sniggers. "What a fucking cliché."
> 
> "How was Haruie hurt? _Where_ is Haruie?" Naoe presses.
> 
> "She's upstairs," Chiaki says. "She ran after Oda; tried to stop him. He reflected her own blaze right back on her. Like he was negative space."
> 
> "Why are you both wearing collars?" Yuzuru suddenly asks.
> 
> Before Naoe or he can say anything, Chiaki snaps his fingers. "Barriers, right? They act as bond inhibitors. You can't slide back and forth between conscious signatures, right? Why didn't I think of that?"
> 
> "I didn't either." Naoe clears his throat, shrugging. "Then again, I was on painkillers, so I have an excuse. More importantly, how are we going to save Miya? If he can repel all our attacks, it's going to be a very short fight. We barely made it away from him last time, and this time, it sounds like he's using demonic power."
> 
> Yuzuru takes a step closer to the couch. "Chiaki and I were thinking. We need a power source bigger than a Possessor's capacity. Something that will take him out once and for all. We need... me."
> 
> "You?" Kagetora asks.
> 
> Yuzuru nods. "Yes. Chiaki and I discussed it before you got home. We both agree that the Star within me is probably the only thing strong enough to... to..."
> 
> "Destroy all Six Worlds," Chiaki supplies.
> 
> "Or, at least, take out a soul-killer."
> 
> "Narita-san, those are noble sentiments," Naoe begins, "but your power is, I'm sorry to say, inherently evil. And you don't know what you're doing."
> 
> "Chiaki will teach me what I need to do."
> 
> "Setting you off would be the equivalent of letting lose an atomic bomb. On all plains of existence. You could level half of Japan and undo everything the Yashashu have worked for. I appreciate your desire to help, but we'll have to find another way." Naoe glances at Kagetora.
> 
> He's only processing half of this. Miya's gone. Haruie's hurt. Yuzuru's a bomb. He has a showdown at midnight with a half-dead demonic Possessor. "No. Nope, I'm just not doing this."
> 
> Kagetora gets up and walks quickly to his bedroom, opens the door, and carefully lowers himself to the messy futon. Curling up in the fetal position, he just lies there, staring out into space.
> 
> It's a matter of seconds before Naoe's standing in the doorway. "Kagetora-sama."
> 
> "No more," he moans. "Just no. Go away."
> 
> The older man pads over to him and gets down on the bed. Strong arms come around him, but the weight is just oppressive. He can't breathe. He can't think. "Miya..."
> 
> "Kagetora-sama."
> 
> A tear. Two. "I fail everyone that loves me."
> 
> "How can you say such a thing?"
> 
> "Everyone. Everyone that loves me gets hurt. Why do you keep doing it? Why do you keep trying? _You're_ the masochist. I keep pushing you away and you keep running toward the pain. I say no. I say don't. You don't listen. At least the others have good enough sense to keep some distance. Even Miya didn't try to have all of me. You want all of me. I don't understand _why_." His voice breaks on the last word and his body wracks with sobs.
> 
> "Because I love you, damn it," Naoe whispers along the back of his neck. "I love you."
> 
> "But _why_?" he keens.
> 
> Naoe pulls him onto his back and gets right in his face. "Because you are you. You are enough."
> 
> He's crying now. "Na-Naoe. I'm so filthy. Don't touch me. Don't!"
> 
> The older man kisses his chest, where his heart is supposed to be. "You could never be anything but perfect in my eyes, Kagetora-sama. Flaws and all, you are everything worthy and true, to me."
> 
> The sobs come, his hands tangling in Naoe's hair, and Naoe's kissing his chest, going lower, lower still, and he can't stop the older man anymore, can't hold back the wave, and suddenly Naoe's mouthing him through his slacks and he's going to come, his fingernails digging into Naoe's shoulders, and then the other man's on top of him, kissing him, and he's wrapping his arms around those broad shoulders, pulling close, lost in it, moaning as Naoe plunders his mouth, they're both panting and then...
> 
> "Miya..."
> 
> "What?" Naoe breathes, stopping.
> 
> "Naoe, I can't do this now. I've got to save my little sister."
> 
> Grimacing, Naoe nods and pushes up and away. "Of course. Of course." The older man's panting, trembling with effort. "Right. Let's... You go downstairs, my lord. I'll check in on Haruie and then join you. We'll come up with a plan."
> 
> He brushes his knuckles over Naoe's face - it's bruising pretty badly. "I got you good."
> 
> Naoe lifts a shoulder up and down. "I asked for it."
> 
> "Yeah," he chuckles breathlessly, "you did." Sliding his hand down to Naoe's collar, he unhooks it, and lets the bittersweet sadness and longing wash over him. Then he undoes his own.
> 
> "Kagetora-sa-"
> 
> He puts his finger to Naoe's lips, then cups his cheeks and draws him up close, placing a kiss on each cut, each bruise.
> 
> Naoe's entire body throbs with lust and adoration. It's a heady drug.
> 
> Kagetora continues to kiss and lick at the wounds until they are all healed, until Naoe's skin absorbs the blue and black marks and turns back into a smooth, pale, handsome shade of white. ~ _There,_ ~ he whispers into Naoe's mind, ~ _I kissed it and made it all better._ ~
> 
> // _I love you, Kagetora-sama._ // Naoe presses his lips to Kagetora's for the briefest moment, then stands up and goes to the door, putting his collar back on.
> 
> Kagetora understands. Naoe's fires are banked because Miya is in danger. Any other reason, and he knows he'd be on his back, legs spread, Naoe thrusting into him with abandon.
> 
> "Help me save my sister," he says, leaving the necklace off so that Naoe will sense that he means what he says, "and I'll let you have me, Naoe. Any way you want me."
> 
> A sharp intake of breath, and Naoe nods, keeping his back to Kagetora, walking stiffly from the room.
> 
> * * *
> 
> They spend the next three hours coming up with a plan. Kagetora will bait Nobunaga; Naoe will, of course, act as his shield. Chiaki will try to find and save Miya, and Yuzuru will wait in the wings as their secret and last resort, weapon.
> 
> Once that's decided, Naoe takes off his jacket, rolls up his sleeves, and, along with Nagahide, gives Yuzuru a crash course in how to fight, Possessor-style. Kagetora goes upstairs and changes into jeans and a black tee so that he can be more flexible in a fight; it amuses him that he's four hundred years old and looks so damned young. Then he checks in on Haruie.
> 
> She's sleeping, and her body looks fine, but exhausted. He goes to close the door and she stirs. "Kagetora-sama."
> 
> He hesitates before going to the bed. "How are you feeling?"
> 
> "I'm so sorry."
> 
> Shaking his head, he cuts her off. "Not your fault. Blame is pointless. We're going to get her back."
> 
> Haruie struggles to sit up. "I'm coming with you."
> 
> "In your state, you're a liability," he says affectionately.
> 
> She pushes his shoulder. "Don't patronize me, Takaya-san. My place is with Kagetora-sama. Even if it means my death."
> 
> "What if it means _mine_?"
> 
> She swallows whatever she was going to spit out. "My lord, I give you word I will not interfere or be a hindrance. But if you're going up against that - that - that _thing_ , then you'll need all the help you can get."
> 
> "I don't want any more people risking their lives. This task falls to me."
> 
> Haruie smiles. "You sound like the old Kagetora."
> 
> "I'm still me. Since I got linked with Naoe, I got all of my memories back. I remember what Oda did to me thirty years ago. I know what I'm going up against."
> 
> She just now notices his collar, touches it with finely manicured fingers. "A barrier?" she guesses.
> 
> He nods. "Feels empty without him moping and second-guessing himself every five seconds up in there." He gives her a sheepish grin.
> 
> "He loves you very much, Kagetora-sama."
> 
> "I know," he says softly. "He always was a fool."
> 
> Haruie smiles. "That makes all the rest of us fools, too."
> 
> He chokes back the emotion - ~ _when did I become such a crybaby?_ ~ - and helps Haruie to her feet. "Let's get down there."
> 
> * * *
> 
> Chiaki and Naoe manage to teach Yuzuru some basics. How to levitate objects, throw a good punch, and send out a pulse wave of chi. Aside from setting the refrigerator on fire that one time, he handles himself pretty well.
> 
> The trouble is, he can't shield himself. His powers seem destructive-only. No barriers, no repel waves, not even a block and hold. The boy is effective only on the offensive.
> 
> Which means Chiaki will have to pull double duty again.
> 
> "I can help guard him too," Haruie says weakly. "I'm not good for much _other_ than shielding, at this point."
> 
> Chiaki looks grim, but nods. It will be a miracle if they all get out of this tonight.
> 
> "It's time," Naoe says. He looks at each of them, his eyes landing on Kagetora the longest, and then says, "Let's bring her home and put this threat to rest."
> 
> "One more thing," Chiaki says. "You should take the necklaces off."
> 
> Kagetora and Naoe stare at him.
> 
> "We'll need every advantage."
> 
> Naoe shakes his head. "I don't think it will come to that, but if it does..."
> 
> " _When_ it does," Chiaki interrupts. "You better take them off."
> 
> Kagetora nods and follows Naoe out the door.
> 
> * * *
> 
> The park is cold, deserted. The trees look like twisted limbs flopping in the wind. Kagetora can practically smell danger. The distant clock tower chimes midnight and the breeze dies.
> 
> "So, you brought your mutt with you," Nobunaga's voice says.
> 
> Kagetora looks around, but the spiritual signature is scattered in all directions. "Well, I tried putting him on a leash, but you know how it goes..."
> 
> Naoe looks around as well. He hesitates, then pushes Kagetora away as a laser blast of chi fires straight down from the sky to where he had been standing.
> 
> Kagetora rolls, cursing. "Coward."
> 
> "Show your face, Oda," Naoe demands. "Or at least what's left of it."
> 
> An insane cackle fills up the night.
> 
> Nobunaga appears at the top of the playground's ladder, grinning a hollow, jagged-tooth grin. He barks at Naoe, over and over, taunting him.
> 
> "Where's Miya?" Kagetora demands.
> 
> "I ate her for supper," Nobunaga says. "She tasted... _sweet_."
> 
> He fires off a stinging blue lightning strike. Nobunaga easily avoids it, however.
> 
> "Do the Oda have so little honor that they would kidnap an innocent girl and then not return her when promised?" Naoe tries.
> 
> Nobunaga shakes his head. "The Oda would happily _slit_ her _throat_ just for being one of Uesugi's beloveds."
> 
> Kagetora clenches his fists. "Give her back! Give her back now!"
> 
> "Or what?"
> 
> There's nothing he can do, nothing at all. Miya could be in a dumpster somewhere, cut up, dead. She could be tied up any number of places, left to starve to death. Her soul could be anti-matter by now. They were totally at Nobunaga's mercy.
> 
> "Nobunaga," he calls. "You've wanted me in your paws for centuries. Now's your chance. Give my sister to Naoe... and I'll give myself to you... willingly."
> 
> "Kagetora-sama!" Naoe protests.
> 
> "I'll let you take your time; I won't struggle." Kagetora swallows. ~ _I'm sorry that I won't be able to keep my promise to you, Naoe,_ ~ he thinks, but Naoe can't hear him. "Let's finish this."
> 
> Pausing to consider, Nobunaga strokes his bony chin. "I think I'll enjoy it more if you _do_ struggle. I want to see you writhe."
> 
> "Then I'll struggle! I'll _writhe_! Just let her go!" Done with talking, Kagetora walks toward Nobunaga. Naoe's right behind, but he ignores the older man.
> 
> Nobunaga tsks. "She hardly seems worth it, but you drive a hard bargain, Saburo Kagetora." In his palm a red sphere glows, growing bigger and bigger until he can see Miya, asleep inside. Nobunaga hurls the sphere at Kagetora. "Catch!"
> 
> Chiaki's there, running like mad, jumping in front of Kagetora in order to catch Miya. Red light surrounds them both as he clutches her to him. When they land, the light shatters and the sound is deafening.
> 
> It's as if Nobunaga threw a spiritual grenade.
> 
> "Agah!" Chiaki screams, crumpling over the unconscious Miya as the power rips through them.
> 
> "Chiaki!" Yuzuru cries, running out from his hiding place in the bushes. Haruie holds him back, trying to pull him behind her. She quickly puts up a shield for Yuzuru.
> 
> "Kagetora-sama, its dangerous!" Naoe warns.
> 
> He just barely has enough time to dodge a heavy series of wave missiles. They pound huge holes in the ground and he stumbles into one of them, up to his calves in dirt.
> 
> "Son of a bitch." Kagetora chants a blocking spell, designed to seal Nobunaga's power for a few moments so that Naoe can get in a few punches, but suddenly he's lifted high into the air - high enough that his body is a silhouette against the moon - and then he's jerked a good fifty yards to the east and dropped unceremoniously down to the ground.
> 
> He falls hard and lands like a stone skipping on water, rolling and rolling until his back slams up against a water well. The well is old, made of gray stone and earthy clay. It was part of a holy shrine but the builders of the park must have left it there to preserve the historical landmark.
> 
> But now, Kagetora crashes into it, chipping the side and almost falling in.
> 
> His blood-slick fingers claw at the stones desperately, but it's no use - the force of his impact pushes him over. He falls for maybe five or six seconds and lands onto the dry, packed earth. ~ _At least it hasn't rained recently._ ~
> 
> "Augh... oh..." He can taste blood; it's running down the side of his mouth.
> 
> "Kagetora-sama!" he hears Naoe call far away.
> 
> Far away. Up there. Where the world lives.
> 
> He's down here. Down in a waterless grave. Looking up, the tunnel seems endless, the black monotony broken only by the light of the sickle moon, a yellow sliver in the sky.
> 
> _"You have to unleash it. You can't let go. You have to give up, or you'll die. Worse than die, you'll fade away."_
> 
> ~ _My dream?_ ~ "Yu...Yuzuru? Unleash it," Kagetora murmurs.
> 
> Unleash what? Let go of what? Give up _what_? Miya? The fight? His life? How can he prevent Nobunaga from turning his soul inside-out, when he's so strong and Kagetora's so weak?
> 
> "Kagetora-sa- auugh!"
> 
> "Naoe!"
> 
> Pushing himself up, Kagetora stands on shaky legs. He claws at the stones, trying to climb his way out, but its futile.
> 
> "YOU BASTARD! FIGHT _ME_!"
> 
> An invisible hand wraps around him and rockets him out of the well, smacking him across the park like a racquet hitting a rubber ball. He springs through the air and lands, tumbling into Haruie.
> 
> She yelps.
> 
> "Son... of a fucking... bitch," Kagetora mutters. "You all right?"
> 
> "You mean aside from the broken ribs?" Haruie asks. "What about you? You should be dead."
> 
> He shakes his head, standing up and pulling her along. "I guess I'm stronger after being bonded to Naoe so many days."
> 
> "Huh."
> 
> "Speaking of, where's Naoe?"
> 
> Haruie points to... a tree.
> 
> A tree where Naoe is suspended.
> 
> His hands splayed out, his feet together.
> 
> He looks like he's been crucified, but the only thing nailing him to the tree is Nobunaga's spirit force.
> 
> "Naoe!" he and Haruie shout.
> 
> "Nobutsuna-san!" Yuzuru calls.
> 
> Naoe doesn't talk. Can't talk, it seems.
> 
> Kagetora builds up all his energy and unleashes it at Nobunaga. It melts the bones off his lower ribs a little upon impact, causing him enough pain to drop Naoe.
> 
> The older man lands face-first and doesn't move.
> 
> "I'll do _worse_ than kill you, Oda," Kagetora growls.
> 
> The man just laughs at him, a high-pitched, self-satisfied laugh. "You cannot escape your fate. I am going to destroy your soul!"
> 
> Kagetora closes his eyes, calling up a huge sheet of blue blaze all around him. He focuses sharply, trying to turn his chi into something that will scatter and shred Nobunaga without killing the others or leveling the neighborhood in the process.
> 
> "Kage...tora...sa...ma." Naoe groans, standing.
> 
> Distracted, Kagetora opens his eyes. He sees Haruie standing a few yards in front of him, trying to put up a protective barrier for Naoe and himself.
> 
> Nobunaga flattens her to the floor with a sonic pulse. She rolls over to where Chiaki and Miya lie unconscious.
> 
> The pulse also extinguishes his blue blaze, but at least he's still standing. Gritting his teeth, he puts his hands together again and starts the chant once more.
> 
> That's when it happens.
> 
> Nobunaga sends out a burst of flame that surrounds him from all angles, coalesces, and then strikes at him, a single arrow of hell-fire aimed straight at his heart.
> 
> He knows he's going to die.
> 
> ~ _No. Don't._ ~
> 
> Naoe runs - _runs_ like Kagetora has never seen him - and steps in front of him, bloody hands stretched out wide.
> 
> His body absorbs the entire shot, which propels him back into Kagetora's arms and sends them both scraping along the ground for several feet. Naoe's brown eyes are open wide; his mouth is also agape, struggling for air. He looks like a fish out of water.
> 
> Time stops.
> 
> * * *
> 
> Kagetora cups his face, resting the older man's head on his stomach, and he whispers, "You fool."
> 
> Nobunaga powers up to deliver the final blow, but Kagetora can't even work up the strength to concern himself, because he can see Naoe losing the battle... slipping away.
> 
> Suddenly Yuzuru breaks free of the shield Haruie had placed around him and runs to stand in front of Chiaki and the two women. He chants, " _Gyateigyatei haragyatei harasougyatei bojisowaka hannyashingyou..._ " and a yellow light cloaks him.
> 
> ~ _When did Chiaki have time to teach him that? He DIDN'T. Which means Yuzuru's just doing it... by instinct._ ~
> 
> Kagetora can see the Star within him, buried between his eyes. It shines so brightly.
> 
> Then it happens. A devastating boom. At first, everything goes quiet, as if the very air had been sucked from the area.
> 
> Then the ground quakes and splits, cracking under Yuzuru's feet. Immense power surges from Yuzuru's hands, shooting out in sheets and streams of light, rifling through Nobunaga's rotting flesh.
> 
> The Demon King screams as the remainder of skin and bones disintegrates. His spirit, weak and misty, is caught in the steady flow of Yuzuru's attack. It hurtles back, bouncing along the trees and the playground structures, scattering and regrouping, finally seeking refuge in the well.
> 
> Yuzuru mutters something and the entire well collapses inward, trapping Nobunaga's faint signature inside. The earth seems to swallow him up whole.
> 
> "Takaya," Yuzuru murmurs. "Seal it."
> 
> Kagetora lifts one hand off of Naoe's face and mutters the incantation to bind the hollow mound into a spiritual dungeon.
> 
> The minute he finishes, the blond boy faints, and all four of them - Miya, Chiaki, Haruie and Yuzuru, lie in a heaped pile.
> 
> The park looks like a disaster area for a split second, and then as Nobunaga's energy fades, the barrier does too, and it remolds like nothing odd has happened; all the evil chi has vanished inside the seal. It's just a normal park again.
> 
> Naoe coughs, bringing Kagetora's attention back down to his lap. Spots of blood are on his jeans. "Naoe..."
> 
> "Ka...ge...to..." He coughs again.
> 
> "Shhh." Kagetora smoothes that sandy-brown hair back off a damp forehead. "Rest. I'll heal you."
> 
> He takes off his collar and then removes Naoe's.
> 
> But instead of the familiar wet warmth while they touch, it's cold. It's slippery. Naoe's slipping.
> 
> // _Don't suppose you'd give a dying man one last smoke?_ // the older man thinks wryly.
> 
> ~ _Don't you dare leave me. I haven't give you permission, Naoe!_ ~
> 
> // _Since... when... did I ever listen... to that kind of... order...? It's better... like this... You're getting... your wish..._ //
> 
> ~ _My wish?_ ~
> 
> // _I'm... f-fading... a-away..._ //
> 
> Kagetora pulls Naoe closer and sobs, "No!"
> 
> // _You can be free... now... Kagetora-sama. The past is... dying._ //
> 
> ~ _Don't leave me. Don't leave me. Don't leave me alone!_ ~
> 
> He scrunches up into a ball, pressing his lips to Naoe's, but the older man's gone completely slack; dead.


	6. Chapter 6

> Chapter 6  
> 
> 
>   
> 
> 
> Compared to the other ways Naoe has died in the past, this is easy. There’s nothing to do but let it happen. Bit and pieces of himself are crumbling, falling away, like the walls of a sacked city. His body is already dead and he’s growing fainter.  
> 
> 
> Kagetora won’t let go, however, and that slows the process down somewhat.  
> 
> 
> ***
> 
>   
> 
> 
> _He’s hovering over a calm, blue sea. The sky is orange, pregnant with the sunset. Kagetora holds him in his arms; their bodies brush against the surface of the water.  
> _
> 
> Instinctively, he knows that the sky is a bridge to their world, and the sea is a gate to . . . nothingness.  
> 
> 
> He’s sinking.  
> 
> 
> Kagetora’s not letting go.  
> 
> 
> “What are you doing? You’ll get pulled down with me,” he murmurs.  
> 
> 
> “Where are we? Is this in your mind?”  
> 
> 
> Naoe blinks. “We’re in my soul, I think.”  
> 
> 
> Kagetora gasps. “It’s empty.”  
> 
> 
> “It’s dying,” Naoe says simply.  
> 
> 
> “It’s not,” Kagetora denies. “I won’t let it. I refuse.” He whispers across Naoe’s lips, “I refuse.”  
> 
> 
> Naoe smiles. “Does the universe bend to your will?”  
> 
> 
> “Dammit. Naoe . . .”  
> 
> 
> His back’s touching the water now; it’s cold, and he feels as if the clothing and skin that touches the water is becoming transparent, faint.  
> 
> 
> “Naoe. Don’t give up.”  
> 
> 
> He cups the boy’s face. “I love you enough that this . . . doesn’t even matter.”  
> 
> 
> “Naoe . . .” Kagetora shifts so that he’s got his arms around Naoe’s back.  
> 
> 
> “Don’t! You’ll go down too. And then all this is pointless.” Naoe tries to smile again but it’s getting harder. His legs are sinking under now.  
> 
> 
> “No, no,” Kagetora whispers, kissing the corner of his mouth. “Don’t!”  
> 
> 
> “Kagetora-sama . . .”  
> 
> 
> “Naoe,” the younger man says with firm resolve. “I won’t let you go. Do you hear me? You go down and you’ll drag both of us, I swear it.”  
> 
> 
> “That’s not true,” Naoe says, as if to comfort himself with the thought.  
> 
> 
> “I mean it. I won’t let go.”  
> 
> 
> “Stop it. Please, just stop torturing yourself. My only love . . .” Weakly, Naoe traces his forefinger down Kagetora’s tear tracks. “I want you to live. To LIVE. Fulfill your mission and then have a normal life. Go to school. Find a woman. Have children. Lots of children. Name the stubborn one after me,” he chuckles, “and die happy, an old man in a soft bed. Stop carrying the past around. That’s not your burden. It’s mine, now.”  
> 
> 
> “I will not abandon you.”  
> 
> 
> “Idiot,” Naoe whispers as he sinks up to his waist. He can’t feel his lower body. He’s surprised he can even speak at this point, but since they’re in his soul, he supposes it makes sense. “There is something you can do for me.”  
> 
> 
> “What?” Kagetora asks.  
> 
> 
> “Forgive me?”  
> 
> 
> Tears squeeze out of those black eyes. “I do, Naoe. All of it. But if you leave me all alone, I don’t know how I can forgive you for that!”  
> 
> 
> “Kagetora. Could it be that . . . all this time . . . you really love me?” Naoe is serious.  
> 
> 
> “How stupid! You KNOW I care for you! So . . . so come back already.” His lord sounds like a little kid.  
> 
> 
> “I love you.” And that’s a good thing to die saying, he thinks.  
> 
> 
> “Naoe . . . Naoe, you’re sinking further.”  
> 
> 
> The water is icy cold now, up to his chest. His arms have gone slack. Kagetora still hovers above the water, his hands getting wet while he clasps his arms around Naoe’s back.  
> 
> 
> “Let go, Saburo.”  
> 
> 
> Kagetora clings tighter. “I give up,” the boy whispers. “I give it all up. Everything. The past. The future. None of it matters without you.”  
> 
> 
> Naoe’s down to his chin now, tilting his face up. Kagetora presses their lips together.  
> 
> 
> “I choose you.”  
> 
> 
> And he’s sinking, so weak, but Kagetora’s following him, sinking with him, wrapped around him, getting dragged down into nothingness beside him, and he wants to scream, to deny it, to save the other man, but he doesn’t have a voice now, and his limbs are fading away.  
> 
> 
> Kagetora begins fading as well, until all they can do is twine around each other, and deep down, Naoe is glad, because at least neither of them will have to bear the pain and madness of grieving the other. If they can’t be together, then they won’t BE at all.  
> 
> 
> His lord and master chooses him, in the end. Him above all else. Kagetora loves him enough to give up the beautiful world and all its possibilities; to turn his back on his sister and friends; to abandon the other Yashashu and the mission of exorcising the Feudal Era spirits. In the end, Kagetora forgives him and chooses to stay with him.  
> 
> 
> To this bitter end.  
> 
> 
> To nothingness . . .  
> 
> 
> No.  
> 
> 
> No, not like this.  
> 
> 
> He can’t let this happen.  
> 
> 
> If Kagetora fades, then all is truly lost. The past four hundred years are lost, meaningless. His friends and family will be heartbroken. Lord Kenshin’s mission will fail.  
> 
> 
> No. He cannot give up. He must be strong for the both of them.  
> 
> 
> Kagetora’s all but gone now. They stare at each other, brow to brow, chest to chest, holding one another, on the brink of annihilation.  
> 
> 
> And Naoe’s spirit rejects it.  
> 
> 
> Utterly and totally rejects it.  
> 
> 
> ***
> 
>   
> 
> 
> Time starts.  
> 
> 
> “Zhaaaaauuh!” Naoe gasps, his body jerking as oxygen fills his lungs. Like shooting up from a breaking wave, his body regenerates; his soul resurrects.  
> 
> 
> He twitches, eyes closed, every nerve in sheer agony as his tissues and muscles flare once again to life. He coughs and sputters and seizes for long moments, then stills.  
> 
> 
> He’s . . . wet.  
> 
> 
> Completely soaked.  
> 
> 
> So is Kagetora, on top of him.  
> 
> 
> Kagetora!  
> 
> 
> “Kagetora-sama. Kagetora-sama!” Using Herculean effort, he rolls them until he can lean over his master, whose face is ice-blue and still. “No. No!” // _You promised you’d stay with me._ //  
> 
> 
> ~ _And I did._ ~ Kagetora shakes, belching water. His eyes roll around in his head. Naoe holds him while he rocks through the aftermath. When he’s done, the boy shivers and says, “Some of us just like to make a dramatic entrance.”  
> 
> 
> Naoe’s face breaks in a smile. “Kagetora-sama.”  
> 
> 
> “Idiot,” Kagetora breathes, pulling him down for a soft, gentle kiss.  
> 
> 
> “I don’t believe you two finally get a happy ending,” Chiaki says, hovering with the others nearby. “After all the shit we’ve been through, it’s about fucking time.”  
> 
> 
> Pulling apart, Naoe and Kagetora watch their little group laugh.  
> 
> 
> Yuzuru clings to Chiaki, his face dirty and puffy. He looks half-dead and probably is. Haruie leans heavily on Miya, who, aside from looking pinched at the sight of her brother back from the dead, seems totally fine.  
> 
> 
> “Everybody made it out okay?” Kagetora asks, absently petting his fingers through Naoe’s hair. It feels so fucking _good_.  
> 
> 
> “Miraculously,” Haruie says.  
> 
> 
> “And Nobunaga?” Naoe presses.  
> 
> 
> “You and Yuzu-kun sealed him in that well over there,” Chiaki says proudly. “It’s a holy shrine. He’s good and trapped.”  
> 
> 
> Kagetora frowns. ~ _Spiritual dungeons can be broken, just like Lord Shingen’s._ ~  
> 
> 
> // _True. But considering Yuzuru’s power, it would take a Siddhartha with a bulldozer and an army of Possessors to pull that off, so, I think we’re safe until the next Armageddon._ //  
> 
> 
> ~ _Planning to be around for that one too, are you?_ ~  
> 
> 
> “Yes,” Naoe says. “As long as you want me.”  
> 
> 
> Kagetora gives him a sappy smile. ~ _Forever, then._ ~  
> 
> 
> “Uhm . . . Oniichan? What’s going on?”  
> 
> 
> Naoe stands up—all right, Chiaki lifts a boneless Naoe to his feet while Yuzuru and Haruie help Kagetora.  
> 
> 
> “It’s a long story. And I promise to tell you everything,” Kagetora says. “But tomorrow. Late afternoon. Chiaki will take you guys home. You can crash at my place, everybody.”  
> 
> 
> “Of course Chiaki can. Chiaki isn’t tired. Chiaki loves to drive. But you?” Chiaki asks with a raised eyebrow.  
> 
> 
> “ _I’m_ taking Naoe to his hotel. I have a promise to keep.” The implication was clear to everyone but Miya.  
> 
> 
> Naoe’s stomach tightens and his dick jumps at the thought. Kagetora smirks.  
> 
> 
> “You’re really all right? You were dead . . .” Miya trails off.  
> 
> 
> Kagetora reaches out and hugs her. “Yeah. I’m fine. Naoe wouldn’t let me. You know how he is. Stubborn mule.” He kisses her forehead. “Go home, all of you. Get some sleep. Don’t worry about school tomorrow, Sis; just rest up, okay?”  
> 
> 
> Chiaki nods and offers his arm to Miya.  
> 
> 
> Kagetora looks to Yuzuru. “I owe you . . . all our lives. You used incredible power. And you didn’t even destroy a single building!”  
> 
> 
> Yuzuru laughs. “It was hard. I just focused everything I could onto him. It was like a laser in my head. I’m glad I didn’t hurt anyone else . . . I don’t think I like having this much power.”  
> 
> 
> “A sure sign that you are the right person to wield it,” Naoe says.  
> 
> 
> “Right,” Kagetora agrees.  
> 
> 
> Haruie suddenly gives Naoe a hug. He’s a little shocked. Then again, he’s not.  
> 
> 
> “Are you happy?” she whispers.  
> 
> 
> “So happy,” he whispers back.  
> 
> 
> “Good. Don’t fuck it up.” She punches his arm and then turns on her heel. “Maaaan! My ribs hurt, my feet hurt, my head hurts. And I’m hungry. Let’s go home and have Miya make us some miso soup!”  
> 
> 
> “Haruie-san!” Yuzuru chides.  
> 
> 
> “There’s no point when she’s hungry, Yuzu-kun,” Chiaki explains, grasping the blond boy’s hand as they walk away. “Haruie and logic? No dice when food is on the brain.”  
> 
> 
> “I’d be happy to cook for everyone, Nagahide-san. I’m a little worked up, and cooking relaxes me,” Miya says, her voice cheerful but growing faint.  
> 
> 
> Soon all of them are past hearing, then out of sight.  
> 
> 
> *
> 
>   
> 
> 
> “So,” Naoe tries for casual. “A hotel, huh? Which one does my lord prefer?”  
> 
> 
> Kagetora slams him up against a tree and plunders his mouth, sucking on his lower lip until Naoe thinks he’s going to come right there. “Whichever one’s closest,” the younger man murmurs huskily.  
> 
> 
> “Oh.” Naoe kisses him, kisses him and kisses him, as they stumble out of the park and down the street, dripping wet, mauling each other. // _Want you so much._ //  
> 
> 
> ~ _You got me._ ~  
> 
> 
> He pushes Kagetora against a chain fence, gripping the holes high above their heads, and grinds up against him.  
> 
> 
> ~ _Fuck, you’re hot for it._ ~ Kagetora surges up, wrapping his leg up over Naoe’s hip to feel it more.  
> 
> 
> // _Been a long time coming._ //  
> 
> 
> ~ _Well, wait a little longer. I’d prefer not to fuck in public and I don’t want our first time to be in a back alley._ ~  
> 
> 
> Naoe pulls away and gives him a lecherous grin. He points to the side. “ _That_ would be a five star hotel. And _this_ ,” he holds up his wallet, “would be my credit card.”  
> 
> 
> “You spoil me.” Kagetora bites playfully on his earlobe.  
> 
> 
> // _I love that. Oh._ // “Nothing but . . . the best . . . for you.”  
> 
> 
> ~ _Hurry._!~  
> 
> 
> Naoe pulls Kagetora along, and by the time they reach the other side of the street, their cuts and scrapes are almost completely healed. Naoe shuffles them through the revolving door, and strides up to the concierge.  
> 
> 
> “Sir?”  
> 
> 
> ~ _We’re dripping wet . . ._ ~  
> 
> 
> // _I’ll suck you dry._ // “We want a room. Your best room. I want your most expensive room with the biggest bed you’ve got, and I want it _right now_.”  
> 
> 
> “Ah . . . Yes, sir, just let me check . . .” A few quick taps on the keyboard, and he and Kagetora have the deluxe presidential suite. “Do you have any baggage?”  
> 
> 
> “Four hundred years’ worth,” Kagetora says, snatching the key card from the man behind the desk. “But that will be all. No one is to disturb us.”  
> 
> 
> “Yes, sir; of course.”  
> 
> 
> Naoe yanks him toward the elevators and when they get inside they’re all over each other, Kagetora sucking on his tongue and moaning hotly, and he’s so hard he can’t help but thrust forward, humping the younger man against the wall.  
> 
> 
> ~ _Oh, shit, I want you._ ~  
> 
> 
> // _Me too. Me too. Mm._ // He latches onto Kagetora’s throat and gives him a hickey big enough to see from several feet away.  
> 
> 
> Ding ding.  
> 
> 
> Kagetora pushes him out into the hall and _giggles_ of all things, practically running. Naoe chases after him, catching up just as Kagetora stops in front of their suite. He holds up the key card and slides it home while Naoe rubs his hands over that pert ass.  
> 
> 
> // _Need to be in you._ //  
> 
> 
> ~ _Soon, soon . . ._ ~  
> 
> 
> Naoe pushes the door open and they tumble inside. He flicks on the light but turns it down low, then starts ripping off his tie.  
> 
> 
> Kagetora reaches up and does it for him, walking backwards toward the bed. He yanks on Naoe’s tie and they both fall onto the feathered mattress.  
> 
> 
> ~ _Like big wings._ ~  
> 
> 
> // _Give me your mouth._ //  
> 
> 
> Kagetora obeys, and Naoe goes to town, licking and sucking and biting, never able to get his fill. The younger man is peeling him out of his shirt, meanwhile, Naoe’s struggling to unbuckle the younger man’s belt. Then Kagetora cups his rigid flesh and starts rubbing him through his slacks.  
> 
> 
> He breathes through his nose, so turned on he’s seeing spots, and presses the hand roughly against him.  
> 
> 
> ~ _You’re huge. I’m not sure you’ll fit._ ~  
> 
> 
> // _You’d be surprised._ //  
> 
> 
> “I don’t . . . like . . . surprises,” Kagetora says between kisses.  
> 
> 
> // _You’ll like this one, trust me._ //  
> 
> 
> ~ _I do_ ,~ Kagetora sends back.  
> 
> 
> Naoe stands up and lets his pants fall to the floor. He toes off his shoes, rakes off his socks, and slowly pushes his underwear down until he’s standing naked before his lord. He can feel through the bond how attractive Kagetora finds him.  
> 
> 
> The younger man sits up on the bed and kisses Naoe’s stomach. His abdominal muscles clench in response. He pets Kagetora’s hair as the boy laves at his navel, kisses his belly, and then . . . licks his cock.  
> 
> 
> // _Fuck!_ // He’s leaking already, so incredibly aroused.  
> 
> 
> Experimentally, Kagetora licks and sucks on his dick. At first he laps at it like an ice cream cone, then he sucks and rolls his tongue around the head. He can tell when Naoe enjoys something because it ripples through their link.  
> 
> 
> // _Flick your tongue_ // Naoe begs.  
> 
> 
> ~ _Like this_?~ Kagetora tongues the slit of his penis; Naoe throws his head back and moans.  
> 
> 
> “Open,” he requests, and Kagetora does, a little shyly.  
> 
> 
> Naoe strokes the younger man’s face as he slowly, carefully thrusts inside that hot mouth. // _This is what I’m going to do to you. I’m going to fuck you._ //  
> 
> 
> ~ _Naoe. You taste good._ ~  
> 
> 
> Cursing, Naoe pulls out and _rips_ Kagetora out of his shirt, tossing the offending garment over his head to the floor. Kagetora lies back and lifts his hips so that Naoe can yank his jeans and briefs off.  
> 
> 
> // _Shit, you’re fucking gorgeous._ // Naoe licks Kagetora’s inner thighs, then kisses his way down to the arch of Kagetora’s foot, planted on the floor; he removes Kagetora’s socks and pushes the rest of their clothes to the side. He licks his way up the other leg and then hovers, panting warm breath over Kagetora’s swollen cock.  
> 
> 
> ~ _Please . . ._ ~  
> 
> 
> // _I won’t deny you any pleasure to be had, I promise._ //  
> 
> 
> Naoe takes the slender prick into his mouth reverently, surrounding Kagetora with warm, wet, soft muscle. He tongues the underside of the boy’s penis, feeling the cock jump and twitch, watching Kagetora sigh and wriggle, such a happy hum along their bond.  
> 
> 
> He bobs up and down, up and down, until he feels Kagetora is close, and then he stops, pulls back, and just flicks his tongue over the head again and again. He pumps Kagetora with his fist, faster, and faster . . .  
> 
> 
> “Na-naoe!”  
> 
> 
> // _Come for me._ //  
> 
> 
> “Ahh—Guh—Naaa!”  
> 
> 
> The flicking, the vice-like grip, and Naoe’s sultry command push his lover over the edge. Hot spurts of semen coat Naoe’s tongue and chin, dribbling over onto his hand.  
> 
> 
> He swallows what he can and collects the rest in his palm, reaching down to slick himself. His dick is an angry-red and it wants to rut, but he holds himself in check.  
> 
> 
> “Turn over,” he whispers.  
> 
> 
> Kagetora obeys.  
> 
> 
> The sight of the boy’s pert, smooth ass makes Naoe close his eyes for a moment and steal a deep breath.  
> 
> 
> ~ _Naoe?_ ~  
> 
> 
> // _Give me a moment. I’m raw._ //  
> 
> 
> He kisses Kagetora’s thighs, focusing on the sated feeling his partner is experiencing from his own orgasm, and it holds him together. He works his way up, nipping and kissing the swells of Kagetora’s ass, parting the cheeks, and _laving_ up and down his crack.  
> 
> 
> ~ _Naoe?!_ ~  
> 
> 
> // _Trust me. I like it. I know you like it. Relax._ // He sends his tongue around and around the pink little asshole, licking and licking until Kagetora’s rubbing languidly against the sheets, half-hard again.  
> 
> 
> Then, ghosting his finger over Kagetora’s heavy sac, he delves inside, tasting deeply, reading the awkwardness and pleasure and doubt in the younger man, the emotions flitting along their bond.  
> 
> 
> “I have to get some lotion,” Naoe says.  
> 
> 
> “Lotion?” Kagetora murmurs.  
> 
> 
> // _To ease my way inside you,_ // Naoe says, going to the bathroom and rifling through the expensive collection of lotions for the very best. Then again, inside the medicine cabinet there happens to be condoms and K-Y jelly. // _That’s considerate of them. Condiments for the royal fuck room._ //  
> 
> 
> ~ _You’re amused by odd things._ ~  
> 
> 
> Naoe smirks into the mirror. “Should we use a condom?” he asks his reflection. What he’s really asking is if Kagetora’s done this before, unprotected, with anyone else.  
> 
> 
> ~ _You’re my . . . first . . . with this body. I’ve fooled around but never . . . no clothes came off._ ~  
> 
> 
> Smiling gently, Naoe turns off the bathroom light and goes back to the bed. // _I appreciate you telling me that. I will be as gentle as I can, but it WILL hurt, Kagetora-sama._ //  
> 
> 
> “Say my name. My first name.”  
> 
> 
> “Saburo,” Naoe breathes like he’s saying a prayer. He pours the lube onto his hand, mixing it with Kagetora’s spending, warming it up. “I’ve had other partners. I’m clean, but I’ll wear the condom if it would make you feel better.”  
> 
> 
> ~ _Skin to skin, blood to blood, bone to bone_ ,~ Kagetora insists.  
> 
> 
> // _As you wish._ //  
> 
> 
> He crouches on all fours over his young lover and gently parts the boy’s firm ass. Carefully, he eases a finger in.  
> 
> 
> // _Try not to tense up._ //  
> 
> 
> Kagetora relaxes a little.  
> 
> 
> “It’s incredibly tight,” Naoe murmurs.  
> 
> 
> ~ _Sorry._ ~  
> 
> 
> // _Are you kidding? It’s an honor well worth the extra work._ //  
> 
> 
> Kagetora turns his head a little and grins. “Why do I get the feeling I won’t be tight for long?”  
> 
> 
> // _Maybe because I’m gonna fuck you every day for four hundred years to make up for lost time?_ // Naoe half-jokes, slipping another finger past the tight ring.  
> 
> 
> “Mm!”  
> 
> 
> // _Shh. I’m here. Just breathe._ //  
> 
> 
> ~ _I’m scared. I’m scared I’ll remember . . . I’ll think about . . ._ ~  
> 
> 
> “I won’t be insulted if you do,” Naoe says softly, wedging and scissoring his fingers. The muscle stretches and the puckered entrance yields slightly. “But I’ll give you new memories to replace the bad ones.” He kisses the back of Kagetora’s neck.  
> 
> 
> ~ _Want you._ ~  
> 
> 
> // _So much._ // “Three now,” he warns, adding his ring finger.  
> 
> 
> Kagetora’s straining up and away a little, clutching the pillow above his head. ~ _This is the most intimate thing we’ve ever done._ ~  
> 
> 
> // _Except maybe committing soul-suicide together,_ // Naoe suggests dryly.  
> 
> 
> The younger man snickers, then gasps. “Oh!”  
> 
> 
> “Hah. Found it.”  
> 
> 
> ~ _What?_ ~  
> 
> 
> // _Your G-spot._ //  
> 
> 
> ~ _That’s a myth._ ~  
> 
> 
> Naoe crooks his finger over the nub again and Kagetora’s dick gets rock-hard. He moans and circles his hips.  
> 
> 
> ~ _Or not._ ~  
> 
> 
> Smirking, Naoe whispers, “Spread your legs for me, Saburo?”  
> 
> 
> Swallowing, the boy parts his legs. “Like this?” Kagetora means on his stomach.  
> 
> 
> “For now, this way is best. We’ve got all night.”  
> 
> 
> ~ _But I want you now._ ~  
> 
> 
> “Hm, don’t get impatient or I’ll lose control and screw you into the mattress,” Naoe warns, not really kidding. // _I want to make it so good for you._ //  
> 
> 
> Slowly, millimeter by millimeter, Naoe puts the crown of his cock to Saburo’s entrance and pushes in.  
> 
> 
> “Hah . . . hah,” Kagetora pants, fisting the sheets. ~ _Big. It’s big._ ~  
> 
> 
> // _Give it time to adjust. It will fit. I won’t tear you._ // Taking a deep breath, Naoe forces himself to wait.  
> 
> 
> *
> 
>   
> 
> 
> It takes maybe twenty minutes of Naoe’s saintly control as he opens Kagetora, all the while kissing the back of the boy’s neck, playing with his nipples, reaching around to stroke his cock. And then he’s finally all the way in, and Kagetora is stretched and purring. The younger man circles his hips invitingly, nuzzling back against him and humming appreciatively.  
> 
> 
> “Hurry, Naoe.”  
> 
> 
> “Hurry, what?”  
> 
> 
> “Hurry up and move!” Kagetora orders with a frown.  
> 
> 
> “Hurry up and move, what?”  
> 
> 
> ~ _Please? You want a goddamn ‘please?’_ ~  
> 
> 
> “Happy to oblige any requests. You have to ask for it, though. What am I, psychic?”  
> 
> 
> ~ _Very fucking funny. Now FUCK me, before I turn around and decide to stick it to you._ ~  
> 
> 
> The mental picture of Kagetora taking him makes Naoe come just a little. He groans. // _You really do push me to my limits._ //  
> 
> 
> ~ _It’s good for you. Save that thought for later. Now, let me have it._ ~  
> 
> 
> Naoe nuzzles Kagetora and pulls out, carefully thrusting back in.  
> 
> 
> It’s slow-going at first, but then he builds up a nice rhythm. Heavy breathing and the creak of the mattress are the only sounds in the room, but Naoe’s talking to Kagetora plenty along their bond, instructing him when to lift his hips, when to rotate his pelvis, when to squeeze and release.  
> 
> 
> Then the fucking starts in earnest. Naoe pulls the younger man up on his knees and elbows and rides him. Kagetora’s dick flaps against his taut stomach with every thrust of Naoe’s length, each time Naoe grips his hips and jerks him back onto that stiff cock.  
> 
> 
> ~ _Wanna come again._ ~  
> 
> 
> “Touch yourself,” Naoe says raggedly.  
> 
> 
> A little chagrined that he didn’t think of that before, the younger man fists his cock. “Ooooh.”  
> 
> 
> Naoe’s thoughts are quickly dissolving into a jumbled litany. // _Gods, yes. Yes! So tight, so hot, I love you so much, my lord, my everything, can you feel how much I want you?_ //  
> 
> 
> ~ _Want it, want you . . ._ ~  
> 
> 
> “Ugh,” Naoe grunts, draping himself over Kagetora’s back, coming up on the balls of his feet and rutting in and out of the boy so rapidly that Kagetora squawks and starts jerking his dick with abandon.  
> 
> 
> Naoe reaches around and covers Kagetora’s hand, pumping him harshly, biting down on his neck, // _mine, mine, mine, mine, mine_ // and slamming his prick into the boy’s ass.  
> 
> 
> ~ _Naoe!_ ~  
> 
> 
> He turns Kagetora around and kisses him, sensing the other man’s distress at not being able to come, but he wants it this way, it has to be this way. // _I need to see your face. Want to look into your eyes._ //  
> 
> 
> Nodding, Kagetora lets Naoe lift his legs up, and he grips his knees and holds them while Naoe positions himself and slides back in. The new angle is more awkward, a tad more difficult, but worth it because they can look at each other.  
> 
> 
> ~ _You’re amazing._ ~  
> 
> 
> // _You do this to me, Saburo. You always have._ //  
> 
> 
> “Naoe . . .”  
> 
> 
> Naoe kisses him and then pulls back, resting his weight on his knees and snapping his pelvis forward. Kagetora jerks himself with both hands now, his legs bent on either side of Naoe’s thighs.  
> 
> 
> // _I need to come now. I’m sorry._ //  
> 
> 
> ~ _Do it. I want to see you lose control._ ~  
> 
> 
> “My lord . . . My master . . .”  
> 
> 
> Naoe moves until their lips are an inch apart and then he gives a series of minute thrusts right over Kagetora’s prostate. The younger man comes, blinding pleasure and happiness rocketing through their connection.  
> 
> 
> The squeezing muscles, the second wave of orgasm, and Kagetora’s joy all pull Naoe over the edge. With a cry, he spills hot ribbons of lust into Kagetora’s slick passage, coming and coming until he thinks he’ll pass out.  
> 
> 
> _Something in them snaps as if a fragile, brittle thread broke._  
> 
> 
> *
> 
>   
> 
> 
> He collapses on top of Kagetora and promptly loses motor control for the next several minutes. The first thing he does afterward is frown.  
> 
> 
> Their link . . . is gone.  
> 
> 
> They both lie there, reeling, for what seems like hours. Kagetora shakes silently.  
> 
> 
> “Saburo?”  
> 
> 
> “I can’t feel you.” He sounds strained and panicked.  
> 
> 
> Naoe takes a deep breath, carefully pulling out. There’s not too much blood. “I can’t feel you either.”  
> 
> 
> The younger man chokes. “So, that’s it then. It _did_ want us to fuck.” A bitter, scathing laugh. “It was just the bond.”  
> 
> 
> Naoe pulls Kagetora to him. “No!” he says fiercely. “Not for me. I mean, it was . . . Do you . . . do you still want _me_?”  
> 
> 
> In the silence, Naoe swallows, dreading the worst. He wishes more than anything that he could hear Kagetora’s thoughts right now. For one week, one week out of four hundred years, they couldn’t lie to each other. And now, with a single word, Kagetora could utterly destroy him.  
> 
> 
> “You fool,” Kagetora whispers. He clutches Naoe. “I’ve always wanted you.”  
> 
> 
> Relief so sharp, he forgets to breathe.  
> 
> 
> He can see the relief on Kagetora’s face, too. The boy shakes, but it’s from release. Release from the fear that he would never be truly loved by anyone, that his body wasn’t good enough, that his soul was stained. Release from the grief that Naoe was going to disappear and leave him forever. Release, knowing that his sister and everyone they cared about was going to be all right. Naoe _knows_ it, even without being able to _sense_ it.  
> 
> 
> “Why now?” Kagetora asks.  
> 
> 
> Naoe thinks about it. “Chi.”  
> 
> 
> “Chi?”  
> 
> 
> He nods. “It’s the best theory I’ve got. Your chi, your blaze, drew me into you. My chi, my . . . seed . . . drew me back out. I’m guessing.”  
> 
> 
> Kagetora snorts. “So, our mental telephone line got cut off because you came?” The bitter laughter quickly turns into silent, wracking sobs.  
> 
> 
> Gingerly, Naoe rolls over on his back, pulling Kagetora on top of him. He holds the other man for a long, long time, silently offering comfort and strength. Eventually, Kagetora quiets.  
> 
> 
> “Sorry. I’ve cried like a baby this whole week.”  
> 
> 
> “It’s been a rough week.” Naoe ruffles his hair. “But don’t get too comfortable.”  
> 
> 
> Kagetora groans. “You can’t mean to go again. I don’t have any sperm left at the moment. Come back tomorrow; I can get hard then.”  
> 
> 
> “I’m afraid to do it again too soon; you’ll be sore for days. I meant, I have to get us clean.”  
> 
> 
> “Ah. Yeah. Funny how I forgot to think about the come and blood and shit coming out of my ass when this would be all over, Nobutsuna.”  
> 
> 
> Naoe bites down on a smirk. “I didn’t want to kill the mood,” he kisses Kagetora’s forehead, “but sex is messy. Especially . . . with two men. Even if they’re in . . . even if it’s gentle.”  
> 
> 
> “I noticed. I’m in the wet spot.”  
> 
> 
> “And your nose is running. What’s your point?” Naoe says.  
> 
> 
> Kagetora wipes his nose on the back of his hand. “ I don’t think I have one. I’m just complaining. And it’s all your fault. That, I’m sure of.”  
> 
> 
> “Uh huh.” Naoe rolls them over so that Kagetora ends up on the _other_ side of the bed, out of the wet spot. “Stay here. I’ll draw you a bath, Kagetora-sama.”  
> 
> 
> He rises to his feet, but Kagetora catches his wrist. “Hey, Naoe? When we’re . . . um . . . like this? Together and alone, I mean?” The younger man flushes. “Can you call me Saburo?”  
> 
> 
> With a smirk, Naoe says, “After sex, can I have one cigarette?”  
> 
> 
> Kagetora grimaces but says, “If it’s always that good, I’ll buy you a pack.”  
> 
> 
> He leans over and kisses Kagetora softly. “Saburo . . .”  
> 
> 
> Smiling, he goes and starts to fill the tub with hot, on-the-edge-of-scaling-but-not-quite-there water, and sprinkles in some bath salts. // _I miss our bond. But I have him. That’s all that matters._ // “It’s ready,” he calls.  
> 
> 
> “Don’t wanna move.”  
> 
> 
> Leaning on the bathroom’s doorframe, Naoe folds his arms, unable to wipe the smirk off his face. Kagetora, debauched, is quiet a sight. “Get in, brat.”  
> 
> 
> “Insolence!” Kagetora shouts with mock anger, padding carefully to the bathroom.  
> 
> 
> Naoe helps him into the tub and hands him a washcloth. “I’d clean you myself, but something tells me you’ve reached your sap limit for the evening.”  
> 
> 
> “I miss our bond.” Kagetora looks down.  
> 
> 
> “I know,” Naoe murmurs, brushing Kagetora’s bangs back. “I’ll take care of the sheets.”  
> 
> 
> A spare set of linens are folded in one of the three closets. // _Royal fuck room, indeed._ // There were even candles on the dining room table. Naoe swipes two up, lights them, and brings them into the bathroom.  
> 
> 
> Kagetora turns off the water and Naoe gets in behind him so that the younger man can use him as a pillow. “Feeling better?”  
> 
> 
> “Yeah,” Kagetora says softly, sleepily. “Water’s nice.”  
> 
> 
> “Hmm.”  
> 
> 
> Despite losing the bond, he doesn’t feel empty, not really. He supposes it would have been too much to ask for, defeating the Demon King, saving everyone, and making Kagetora his lover, to keep their gift on top of everything. A gift neither of them necessarily earned in the first place.  
> 
> 
> “I’m different,” Kagetora says suddenly.  
> 
> 
> “How?”  
> 
> 
> “The past is . . . not as fresh in my mind. I think my memories are dampened now that we’re not sharing . . . They’re less sharp.” Kagetora balls up the washcloth and squeezes it. “I still have them, I remember me . . . it just . . . seems like it’s a dream.”  
> 
> 
> // _That’s probably a blessing._ // “Ah.”  
> 
> 
> Naoe cups the water and pours it over Kagetora’s chest, warming the man. He kisses Kagetora’s neck, delighting when the younger man tilts his head to grant more access. “I have no regrets.”  
> 
> 
> Kagetora grabs a hold of Naoe’s hands and threads their fingers together. “Neither do I. I just was thinking about . . . where we go from here.”  
> 
> 
> “And what lies ahead, my fearless leader?” Naoe asks, untwining their hands to work a bar of sweet-smelling soap into a lather on his own washcloth.  
> 
> 
> “Well. I was thinking . . .”  
> 
> 
> “Do go on.” // _Is Kagetora blushing again?_ //  
> 
> 
> “About what you said. About me going to school . . .” Kagetora swallows. “Maybe I can get a scholarship and go to an inexpensive university in Tokyo.”  
> 
> 
> Naoe’s been in the younger man’s head long enough to know that Kagetora is afraid that Naoe won’t want him if he isn’t successful. But he also knows that Kagetora is smart and loves learning and wouldn’t commit to college if he didn’t really want it, bad.  
> 
> 
> He sucks on Kagetora’s earlobe. “If you want that, then I think that’s the best idea I’ve ever heard. I think the Nobutsuna family would be happy to make generous donations in order to act as a patron to you, so that you can master . . . whatever you wish to study.”  
> 
> 
> He hopes Kagetora can tell he means it.  
> 
> 
> Naoe nods to himself. “Of course, it’s too far to commute and housing costs are insane. You’ll have to stay with a roommate.” He starts washing Kagetora’s back. “I’ll get us an apartment. If you want.”  
> 
> 
> The boy relaxes his rigid shoulders. “And in the meantime . . . we’ll just have to visit a lot.”  
> 
> 
> It doesn’t take long for Naoe to figure out what he wants. “I can leave the temple to someone else. I go where you go. I come as far inside your space as you let me. If you want, I can sleep in your closet at night.”  
> 
> 
> “Moron.” But Kagetora sounds relieved. “It would probably be all right if you came to live with us. The house isn’t big, but Miya likes you.”  
> 
> 
> “Ah, Miya. What’s going to happen when you go away to school?” A tense silence. “She’s always welcome in any place of ours, you know.”  
> 
> 
> Kagetora rotates until he’s on his side, his head tucked up under Naoe’s chin. “Thank you. But Miya and I have already discussed it. She’s going to move back in with Mom when I graduate. I think the whole Possessor thing is a bit more than a young girl like her can handle. Plus . . . she needs to be around a woman. Seeing her with Haruie brought that home to me.”  
> 
> 
> “I know you’ll miss her.”  
> 
> 
> “I’ll have you. Right? I mean, even without the bond?”  
> 
> 
> “Always.” He pulls Kagetora down deeper into the water. “Not letting you go.”  
> 
> 
> “Romantic sap,” Kagetora says happily.  
> 
> 
> They luxuriate in the water until it cools and the lights sputter, then Naoe towels them off and blows out the candles. Kagetora kills the dimmed lamp and they stagger to the bed.  
> 
> 
> Tumbling into the soft sheets and burrowing into big fluffy pillows, they wrap around each other until their breath intermingles, their hearts beat against one another, and their skin warms to each other’s touch. At that moment, Naoe is sure that he couldn’t ever be happier.  
> 
> 
> Then, into the darkness, Kagetora says—  
> 
> 
> “Naoe?”  
> 
> 
> “Yes, Saburo?”  
> 
> 
> “I love you.”  
> 
> 
> And it happens just like that. A tiny burst in his soul, like the birth of a new star.  
> 
> 
> // _He actually said it . . ._ //  
> 
> 
> Naoe Nobutsuna is reborn.  
> 
> 
> His first act in this new life is to press his lips to Saburo’s in a deep kiss.  
> 
> 
> —End—  
> 
> 
> *
> 
>   
> 
> 
>   
> 
> 
>   
> 
> 
>   
>    
> 
> 
> Story inspired by the passage:  
> 
> 
> _“[The Star] used that way, it would not save Takaya from his destiny of extinction, as Naoe wants. What will Takaya decide after having learned of his damaged soul's promised extinction forever?  
> _
> 
> "In the moment they saw each other, all resistances have gone. No reason, no logic, no judgment, no sense of right and wrong has power any more. The two were like a pair of opposite magnetic poles. Not even a will anymore, but it's the destiny that binds them, the two alluring to each other. No way to resist the power. Looking into each other's eyes, their faces were drawn close . . . to press one's lips against another's.”  
> 
> 
>   
> 


End file.
